Past, Present & Future
by LetitiaRichards
Summary: Life is full of surprises: some we can take in our stride, while others are much harder to bear. Will they be able to restore Jack soon?
1. Chapter 1

_Hey there! I just wanted to update you all on my progress. I am feeling much better than I was before. I had a few problems with the medication but I'm back on track - well, almost! I know I have yet to finish **This Old** **Man** - I haven't forgotten it, and I promise to finish it. Right now I'm not ready to tax my brain with the intricacies of that plot, so I'll leave it until I can get my head round it. Perhaps next month I'll give it a go as I will have some help here (thanks Mu) and she won't let me forget any of the details! LOL! _

_Anyway, in the meantime, I'm hoping you will enjoy this simple little story that has plagued my mind over the past months - I actually started it at Christmas but never got around to finishing it. Not a lot of plot but it will get my brain thinking again with the exercise!_

**PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE?**

By LetitiaRichards

Category: Angst; Drama; Hurt/Comfort; Smarm; UST.

Rating: General

Season: 5

Spoilers: In the Line of Duty, The Other Side, Divide & Conquer, Beneath the Surface, 2001

Summary: Life is full of surprises: some we can take in our stride, yet others are much harder to bear.

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate SG-1. Shame, but there it is. Just borrowing these wonderful characters for a little while. No copyright infringements intended.

Past, Present and Future?

By LetitiaRichards.

Chapter 1 – "I need to speak to you in private sir."

Major General George Hammond flipped open the cover of yet another report and automatically noted the name of the person responsible for its contents. Major Greer, commanding officer of Sg-5. Without looking further into the carefully typed information, the details of the mission brief came to him in a flash. PZX3 489, a tropical planet with high readings of Naquadah. SG-1, the SGC's foremost team, had already established, during a 'meet 'n greet',that the natives were friendly and ready to negotiate.

He let the folder drop onto the highly polished and orderly desk. Slumping back in his chair, his fingers steepled against his chin as he recalled Colonel Jack O'Neill's succinct analogy of how their latest mission had gone... 'We went, we saw, we made friends,' he explained with a spread of his arms. 'It was just what the doctor ordered General. It was a sweet little paradise with the natives falling over themselves in the rush to please us!'

Hammond smiled inwardly as he remembered the relaxed posture and the cocky grin on his 2IC's face as he strolled languidly down the ramp away from the newly idle Stargate. He had to hand it to Jack; he could charm the socks off almost anyone with that deceptively boyish outlook of his, despite the grey hair; except maybe the Goa'uld, whom he suspected, Jack deliberately enjoyed rubbing up the wrong way. Most of the time he'd pulled it off, but on occasions, too numerous for the General's peace of mind, Jack had paid dearly for his notorious potty mouth.

Shaking his thoughts of Jack O'Neill from his mind with one last hope that the current mission Jack and his premier team were on would fare well, he turned his thoughts back to Major Greer's report.

Some twenty minutes later the General reached for the fresh cup of coffee that was sitting quietly steaming away on a coaster at his elbow, when the alarms resounded throughout the base. Forgetting the coffee and the reports, he shot up from his chair and hurried, as much as his bulk would allow, down the metal stairs to the control room below.

Arriving slightly breathless, he was in time to see the wormhole establish and he turned to the technician behind the console.

"Do we have a code Sergeant?" he demanded.

"Not yet sir..." then a fraction of a second later, "Coming through now sir." Davis paused for a tense moment before relaxing slightly. "It's SG-1 sir."

"Open the Iris!" Hammond barked, turning on his heels and heading down to the gate-room to greet his slightly overdue team.

Almost as soon as he entered the vast, cavernous gate-room, a solitary figure stumbled through the event horizon, and corrected her balance from the dizzying ride home. Hammond's eyes zeroed in on the active gate waiting for the rest of the four-man team to follow. Jack O'Neill, Dr. Jackson and Teal'c had yet to come through.

He was left feeling breathless when the wormhole snapped off, leaving the room in silence except for the harsh breathing of the hunched figure as they tried to regain their breath. Hammond's gut clenched in anxiety as he made his way over to Major Carter, reaching out to lightly touch her heaving shoulder.

"Major Carter?"

Samantha Carter gulped down another deep breath to calm herself and straightened at the General's touch.

"What happened to Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Jackson and Teal'c? Where are they?"

Sam, as she was known by all her friends, looked up into concerned grey eyes and smiled reassuringly.

"I need to speak to you in private sir!" she answered, still gasping slightly in her rush to get back to the Stargate on the planet she'd just stepped off of.

Hammond nodded, acknowledging that something was wrong, but also the need for 'eyes only'. Without another word, he led the way up to his office and shut the door behind the tall, blonde Major, inviting her to sit and catch her breath before she filled him in on why the rest of the team was missing.

"First, let me assure you sir, that Daniel and Teal'c are fine sir," she began.

"And Colonel O'Neill?" Hammond lowered himself into his chair, and knew without a doubt that he wasn't going to like where this conversation was going.

She shook her head, wondering how to explain how things had changed back on that planet.

"As far as we can tell sir, he's okay. I wasn't there when it happened but Daniel saw everything, though he was prevented from helping the Colonel until it was too late. Colonel O'Neill was unconscious when I left sir, but his pulse was okay, if a little fast. There's no sign of any external injuries, so on the whole I would say he was fine."

"If the Colonel is injured in any way why didn't you bring him straight back here?" Hammond puzzled, not fully understanding the problem at all.

"We were all agreed that the fewer people that knew about this the better General. They were ready to make their way back to the Stargate just as soon as the Colonel woke up sir."

"I'm not sure I follow you Major. So what exactly is wrong with Colonel O'Neill? He's not been compromised has he?" It was Hammond's worst nightmare that one of his teams, though if it was this team it would be even more devastating, ended up being taken over by their enemy one day. It was a wonder that they'd avoided that scenario so far. The nearest they had gotten to that had been when Major Carter had been taken over by what they took to be a Goa'uld, but was in fact a Tok'ra, luckily for them and the Earth.

"No sir, he's definitely not a Goa'uld. I'm sure Daniel can explain it better than I can sir, but for now... well; let's just say that everything will be made clear as soon as they get back sir. We need to get the Colonel to the infirmary for Dr. Fraiser to examine him but I think for his own peace of mind, he needs the utmost privacy for now sir, until we can figure out what can be done to correct his problem."

Hammond felt he was floundering, still in the dark about what was going on, but one thing he could do was to trust his premier team. And if Major Carter was sure about this then he would make it happen.

"All right Major. If you are so sure about this, I'll have the hallways cleared of all unnecessary personnel."

Sam chewed on her lip. She'd prefer it if there wasn't anyone around to see the Colonel's return, but she understood Hammond's dilemma. She nodded.

"Yes sir. Permission to open a wormhole to PX34 259 and give the rest of the team the all clear to come home?" she asked, standing now, ready to make her way down to the control room.

"Granted Major."

Sam hurried away, followed by a very intrigued General Hammond. He made an announcement over the tannoy system and then cleared the gate-room below in anticipation for the return of SG-1. He dismissed the gate technicians from the control room, except for one of his trusted men, and nodded to Sam. She ordered the Sergeant to start the dialling sequence and within minutes the gate had 'kawooshed' into existence.

"SG-1 niner, come in!"

Several seconds later she received an acknowledgement.

"Sam?" came the breathless reply. It sounded as if they were on the move judging by Daniel's panted response.

"Yes Daniel. How's the Colonel?"

"Um...let's just say he's not his usual self," Daniel responded dryly between gasps.

"He's awake?"

"Yeah, but now he doesn't remember anything..." he sighed, then added the cruncher. "...including us."

OoOoOoOoO

_12 hours earlier on PX34 259_

Colonel Jack O'Neill stumbled out of the wormhole desperately trying to keep his balance. It wouldn't look so 'cool' if he lost his footing and fell on his ass in front of his team. He managed it after several staggering steps, and thanking his lucky stars he turned his attention to the two more unfortunate members of his team that had preceded him.

Dr. Daniel Jackson, their resident archaeologist and linguistics expert, was pushing himself up onto his knees, spitting dirt from his puckered lips from where he had given in to gravity and ended up falling flat on his face in the mire. Jack grinned broadly, offering his best friend a helping hand.

"Need a hand Danny?" Jack drawled, the customary lop-sided smirk on his face meant he was highly amused.

"Don't!" warned Daniel wagging a finger, just daring Jack to take it any further. He was so not in the mood for Jack's somewhat childish wit. He swore the man behaved like his shoe size rather than his age at times.

Daniel glared up at his leader with resignation knowing that in spite of his warning, Jack wouldn't let him forget that little tumble for a long, long time. Reluctantly he slipped his hand into Jack's and was pulled effortlessly to his feet. He refrained from speaking any further because he really needed a few sips of water to rinse the dirt from his mouth.

Jack decided he could wait for the right time to start ribbing his younger friend and moved away, checking out the area as always. Alert, yet relaxed and seemingly disinterested. The others knew this ploy, having seen it employed on many occasion; the man was like a tiger, coiled, ready for action should the need arise.

"You okay Carter?" Jack asked, grinning widely.

"I'm fine sir!" she grimaced knowing that she was going to have one hell of a bruise on her derrière by the end of the day.

Sam had landed on her butt, and was even now brushing off the dirt as she took up a defensive position behind her CO, thankful he hadn't teased her as he'd tried to with Daniel. She glanced back at the last member of the team as he exited the wormhole behind them. She smiled in response to Teal'c's slight dip of his head as he joined the rest of the team, though she couldn't help wondering why it was he never tumbled to the ground through the gate while they did.

Jack relaxed the grip on his weapon and let it dangle loosely from its strap round his neck, though not relinquishing his hold on it completely. The tall, muscular yet lean, grey haired officer would still be ready to fire the automatic weapon at a moment's notice. He stood at the top of the steps of the stone dais and surveyed the area. Knowing his team as well as he did, he knew he could rely on them to be ready to move out as soon as he gave the word.

"So, Daniel, which way to this...er...whatever it is?"

"Temple Jack. I think it's some sort of temple, but until I can get a closer loo..."

"Okay folks, let's move out. Carter,take point. Teal'c watch our sixes. Daniel you're with me."

Without another word Jack took off behind Sam leaving Daniel still gaping like a stranded fish. Jack was his best friend. He'd never had a real friend, and certainly never anyone like Jack O'Neill. There wasn't a thing Jack wouldn't do for him. Yet, why was it that he sometimes got the urge to strangle the, oft times, infuriating older man? Frustration warred with resignation and anger but as always he gave in to the overwhelming feelings of submission. Jack was a good friend and was an exceptional officer, despite his shortcomings where patience was concerned. Yeah, he guessed he could live with that in the name of true friendship.

"Daniel Jackson, are you unwell?"

Teal'c's deep rumbling voice pulled him from his thoughts and brought him back to 'earth' with a bump. He felt the tension in his body drain away and unclenched his fists even as his eyes' popped open, never having recalled closing them in the first place.

"Uh...I'm fine thanks Teal'c. Just..."

"Daniel!" Jack's strident voice called to him from fifty yards away, a slight intimation of sarcasm, amusement and impatience filling it. "You with us?"

Daniel rolled his eyes with a sigh, glancing up at his Jaffa friend. There was just a hint of an understanding smile on those thick dark lips.

Daniel acknowledged the unspoken commiseration with a nod and another sigh then turned, walking towards his friend.

"Coming Jack!" he grated out. Just for once he would like to finish what to him was a necessary explanation without Jack cutting him off mid-stream.

TBC


	2. JACK'

_Hey, I'd like to thank those of you who sent me_ _their good wishes. I so appreciated them. Thanks for the reviews guys - I've really missed writing and keeping you all guessing! LOL!_

**PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE?**

By LetitiaRichards

_Previously: _

"Coming Jack!" he grated out. Just for once he would like to finish what to him was a necessary explanation without Jack cutting him off mid-stream.

Chapter 2 – "JACK!"

They finally reached the ruins after a four hour walk. A dry but cool wind had picked up a little as they'd hit the open, scrubby desert-like country, sending the sandy soil spinning off into little dust devils around them.

Daniel dropped his pack and rummaged through it looking for his video camera, notebook and pencil. He was about to rush into the temple when a firm hand grasped the collar at the back of his jacket.

"Daann...iel!" Jack sing-songed, with a note of censure.

Jack's note of warning stopped him in his tracks as much as the restraining hand on him.

"Jack," he began to protest, trying to worm out of Jack's firm grasp.

Jack's rigid forefinger was shoved determinedly in front of Daniel's face.

"Uh uh! No you don't Danny-boy. You will just sit and wait until I've checked it out first. Okay?" He released his friend and smoothed down the rumpled jacket. "You just never know what's waiting for you inside Daniel. That's my job."

"Your job, Jack?" Daniel could be sarcastic too. "I thought that was to grumble about me taking too much time over any little thing?"

Jack graced him with a withering look until Daniel had to look away. In the background Sam winced, waiting for the expected explosion.

It never came.

"Patience grasshopper," Jack responded with his customary grin, patting his friend on the cheek while quoting a line from one show out of his numerous television favourites. When Daniel looked as though he could deck him, Jack sighed, losing the tenuous hold on his notoriously short temper. "Oh for cryin' out loud Daniel, just wait up will ya!"

Daniel sighed too, feeling the familiar frustration well up inside him again. He clenched his fists and flapped his arms against his thighs with another deep sigh.

"Fine. I'll sit right here and wait. Happy now?"

Daniel slumped to sit cross legged on the ground, his arms crossed looking like a four year old and with a pout to match any thwarted kid around the world.

Totally unmoved by Daniel's little display of annoyance, Jack calmly turned to the two other members of his team.

"Right. Carter, you and Teal'c scout around to see what you can find. Keep an eye out for any hostiles. I'm not totally convinced this place is as deserted as it looks."

"Sir, the readings from the UAV indicated that this planet was deserted," Sam reasoned.

Jack grimaced with exaggerated patience. He pulled the ever present cap from his head, combed a hand through his short military style, sweat dampened hair before pulling the hat back on again and adjusting the bill to look fixedly at the only female member of the team, genius or not.

"Carter, how big is this planet?"

She threw him a stunned look before she did a rough calculation in her mind, then translated it into simplified terms knowing how her CO hated her quoting overly fussy detailed facts and figures at him.

"Um...It's roughly about the same size as Earth sir, maybe a little bit smaller but…"

"Carter!" he yelled, waving his hands through the air to make her get to the point. "Yes, exactly. And?"

"Sorry sir," she replied with a puzzled frown, wondering what she'd said wrong. It was then she caught the smug look on his face. Understanding finally dawned, and duly chastised she continued. "And the UAV only covers a twenty mile radius which isn't really a lot when compared..."

"Ack!" Jack wagged a finger at her for rambling.

"I...em, I get your point sir. We'll keep a look out."

"Thank you Major," he sighed, satisfied that she had finally managed to see his point of view. There was no way to discern if the planet was deserted or not, despite the information transmitted back to the SGC from the UAV sweep or the M.A.L.P.

"Indeed O'Neill. We will remain alert."

"I know you will big guy!" Jack acknowledged, giving him a friendly pat on the Jaffa's muscular bicep. "Call in every hour kids."

"Yes sir."

He smiled benignly as he watched the two of them leave. Sucking in a huge resigned breath he turned back to his sulking archaeologist.

"Ready Daniel?" he called; his long legs striding quickly past the young man towards the entrance to the temple.

Daniel leapt to his feet, hurrying after his team leader, hoping to catch him up before he got too far ahead.

Jack stopped at the entrance, and put a hand behind him to keep Daniel out of the line of sight should anyone be in there waiting for them with a nasty surprise. He took his flashlight and played the bright beam around the dark interior. Satisfied for now, he entered slowly, indicating with a hand signal for Daniel to wait until he gave the all-clear.

In the centre of the room, there was a stone altar covered in what Jack often referred to as 'chicken scratches' and inwardly groaned knowing Daniel would want to take hours just to study them. There was nothing else in the room that he could see would pose a threat to their health, so he called out to his friend.

"Okay Daniel, it's all yours. Have fun."

Daniel all but charged into the room, his torch alighting first on Jack who had to blink like crazy in the sudden brightness and complained bitterly about it too. Daniel quickly moved the light away as soon as Jack cursed about being blinded for life. The beam then flickered over the dark walls until it settled on the altar and Daniel gave a loud cry of satisfaction.

Jack could almost hear him shout 'Eureka!' but shook his head and took up a position by the open doorway instead, half in the sunshine and half in the shade.

"Need I remind you Daniel, **not** to touch anything?" Jack called over his shoulder almost certain that the man hadn't given that rule much of a thought.

"Jack..." Daniel started to protest, but Jack cut him off again.

"Just don't, okay! I refuse to carry you back to the gate when something happens to you because you can't keep your fingers from reaching out and pressing something you shouldn't."

Daniel either ignored him or didn't hear him because he was already wrapped up in the strange writing on the stone in front of him now illuminated by his flashlight.

"Oiy!" Jack sighed resignedly, wondering if he should count the minutes until something went wrong as it invariably did. It was just too quiet around here, something was bound to happen and he knew from experience that Daniel would be right there in the middle of it.

Long hours passed by in a haze of boredom for Jack O'Neill. Every time he had asked how much more time Daniel needed he was waved away with an impatient hand and a curt, 'I don't know.' Jack leaned against the doorway again, slipping down into a sitting position to wait it out. He keyed the button on his radio once more.

"Carter, come in!"

"Colonel."

Jack smiled at the sound of her voice. So help him he just couldn't help it. She was a beautiful woman, she was smart and last year she'd confessed to feeling something more than she should for him. He could still recall vividly their time as Therra and Jonah. What he'd felt back then was just a little indication of how good they'd actually be together; whenever that would be. It had haunted him since then; that last day when they recalled just who and what they were.

As always they'd managed to bury it in that room along with the dreaded Za'tarc confession. They both had a job to do and this way, at least, he got to work alongside her everyday, where he could be there for her. Neither of them had wanted to quit the team; they were the best the SGC had to offer, and that's how it should stay for the time being. At least until one of them was no longer able to carry on or they defeated the Goa'uld, whichever came first. Then, if they still felt the same... well, there would be no stopping him.

"Report Carter."

"Nothing new so far sir. I've found slight traces of Naquadah in the soil but nothing that could be considered significant."

"Any sign of hostiles?"

"None sir. I think the UAV was right this time."

"Okay. Well, keep digging Carter, you may find something yet."

"Yes sir. How's Daniel doing?"

"Oh, you know Daniel. We could be here until this time tomorrow and he'd still be..."

"Jack!"

Daniel's cry cut into him like a knife.

"Call you back Carter. I think Daniel's found something at last. O'Neill out."

Jack scrambled to his feet and hurried over to his friend, already thinking the worst.

"What ya got Daniel?" he asked with relief on seeing that Daniel seemed to be okay at first glance.

"Ah...well. This symbol is for long life and this one signifies a well or a spring, I'm not quite sure and these speak of something that I think means a gift or at least something like that - I think - or it might mean a shift..."

"You think? In other words you don't really know?"

"Well it's only a rough translation but I believe this has something to do with...a...a fountain or well of youth!" Daniel's eyes were aglow with discovery and his hands were animated by excitement, but Jack was wary at best.

"Look around this place. I don't exactly see a fountain or a well around here Daniel. Maybe it dried up?" Jack responded with a half amused questioning look. "Are you sure it says a well?"

"Jack!" Daniel grumbled in frustration. Sometimes it felt as if he was hitting his head against a brick wall. Well, Janet always said Jack had a hard head. "Not exactly. It could be a fountain or just a stream or...or something. This symbol means..." Daniel pointed his index finger at the strange writing and accidentally pushed it. A grating sound from across the room startled them both into action. They spun round immediately, Jack bringing his weapon up to bear.

"Damnit Daniel! You touched it didn't you!" Jack accused, his trigger finger at the ready. He moved to stand in front of his friend, affording him at least some protection from whatever might happen.

"I'm sorry Jack. I...I didn't... But, now that could be..."

"Daniel! Just..." Jack shoved a finger against his lips in the universal language that signified 'shut up!' though he was loathe to actually say it to his friend, especially not after that disastrous mission to Euronda. Never again would he actually say those words to him. It had taken a while for them to regain their friendship after that fiasco.

After a few moments when absolutely nothing happened, Jack silently approached the now gaping hole in the wall that had miraculously appeared out of thin air after Daniel's faux pas.

Jack gestured for Daniel to stay where he was and to wait until he had checked out what lay on the other side of the mysterious doorway.

Jack carefully poked his head in through the opening, surprised to find it light up as he'd moved closer. He turned to give a wry frown back at his friend.

"Maybe that's where the well is Jack?" Daniel whispered from behind him.

"I don't see anything Daniel. As far as I can see this place is completely empty."

Daniel moved to brush past him, but Jack stuck out his arm in time to prevent him entering the room.

"Daniel! Wait!"

"But Jack. If the room i..."

"Daniel!" Jack barked, making the younger man stop with a frustrated sigh and then finally nod in acquiescence of Jack's leadership.

Jack took a step further into the brightness, then another, and another. Nothing happened. He turned 180 degrees, looking closely for anything that might prove even remotely dangerous and then relaxed his body with a sigh.

"Okay Danny-boy, it's all your..." Jack began but stopped when a low hum began to reach his ears. He held out his hand to forestall Daniel's entry. Something was not right, and they were so out of there.

He made a dash for the doorway only to be thrown backwards with a sudden jolt, landing heavily on his back a few yards away.

"JACK!" Daniel screamed as he watched helplessly.

A force field had somehow been erected across the doorway effectively locking Jack into the room and Daniel outside of it.

Jack groaned in pain as he lifted his head to look dazedly at the doorway.

"What the hell was that?" he asked, stiffly pushing himself upright again.

"I think it's a force field Jack. I can't penetrate it." Daniel gasped out, giving an apologetic shrug.

Jack walked over to the entrance once more and gingerly poked his finger at what looked like empty space to him. It sent a tingle of electricity and numbness through his finger and up his arm, and created a spidery web of bright shimmers coursing through the invisible shield.

"Ow!" he complained, shaking his arm to get the feeling back again.

"It looks like it might have been triggered as soon as you entered the room Jack."

"Well don't just stand there Daniel. Go figure out how to get it down again." he griped.

Daniel disappeared from view and Jack decided to look for something on his side, just in case the key to opening it was on the inside.

Walking round feeling every inch of wall in the room had been futile and more than a little pointless because he knew that whatever had caused the field to open up behind him was more than likely hidden among the strange chicken scratches on the altar.

He was on the far side of the room, sitting on the floor with his back against the cold stone wall resting his arms loosely over his bended knees when Daniel reappeared. Jack stood with difficulty, his back and shoulders still sore from his close encounter with the rock hard floor earlier. He stretched his aching back gingerly and sauntered across to hear what Daniel had discovered.

As he stepped into the centre of the room a bright light surrounded him. It was a little like the beam from an Asgard transporter and Jack looked up at the ceiling in surprise, expecting to end up on Thor's ship.

"JACK?" Daniel's yell of panic barely reached Jack's ears, blocked out by a loud buzzing and sudden pain throughout his body.

Jack's head hurt and he brought his hands up to his ears to try and block the piercing noise out. The agony escalated, forcing him to fall to his knees and curl over.

"JACK!" Daniel screamed again.

He felt so utterly helpless as he watched Jack's slow collapse. He stood there transfixed by the sight of his best friend now writhing in agony on the floor. He felt a bit like one of those morbid onlookers that couldn't tear their eyes away from the scene of a road accident. But, this was Jack in there going through god only knew how much pain and he couldn't lift a finger to help him.

He ran outside into the sunshine and grasped his radio, still able to watch the whole terrifying tableau, while his friend suffered.

"Sam, Teal'c!"

"Daniel?" Sam's voice came back breathless with worry. "What's wrong?"

Daniel was fighting to control the rising panic.

"It's Jack. Sam, he's...he's... Oh God! Sam come quickly, he's..." Daniel couldn't bring himself to say it. Say that Jack was in so much pain and he didn't know how to help.

"We're on our way Daniel!" Sam's answer sent a shudder of relief through him and he hurried back inside to see if anything else had changed.

He stood just inches away from the force field and bit his bottom lip to stop it from trembling in fear. Fear for his friend that was climbing with each agonised breath that Jack had screamed out from pain. He watched until he couldn't bear to look any longer. He tried closing his eyes but the image stayed with him until he was forced to open his eyes when Jack's weak voice called to him only seconds later.

"Dan...yl."

Daniel's eyes popped open and he looked on in horror and disbelief as Jack lifted his head and fixed his dark pain-filled eyes on him, then those expressive deep set eyes rolled back into his head and he fell limp just as the light display shut off. Shortly afterwards, the force field disappeared just as suddenly as it had arrived.

"JACK!"

Daniel raced into the room disregarding any possible hazards and dropped onto his knees beside the still figure of his best friend. Tears filled his eyes and ran unheeded down his cheeks as he gathered the unresponsive body into his arms. Jack was still alive for which he could only thank God, but the man would never be the same again, could he? He cradled him in his arms waiting for Jack to wake up or perhaps for Teal'c and Sam to arrive should they make it here before that.

Daniel divested the Colonel of his weapons and utility vest and just held him in his arms, gently brushing the damp hair away from his forehead. It was the least he could offer him in recompense for failing to stop, whatever had been done to him, from happening.

"God, Jack. I am so, so sorry!" Daniel whispered, knowing full well his friend was unlikely to hear him.

TBC


	3. Oh For Cryin' Out Loud'

_At Last! Been trying to upload this all morning._

_I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who sent in reviews for not only this story but also for my ficlet The Wedding! Thank you isn't really good enough to express my feelings, but I don't know anything else that comes near to it - so THANKS!_

_Hope you're enjoying this story so far - and no we get to see what actually happened to Jack. Happy reading!_

**PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE?**

By LetitiaRichards

_Previously:_

"God, Jack. I am so, so sorry!" Daniel whispered, knowing full well his friend was unlikely to hear him.

Chapter 3 – "Oh for cryin' out loud!"

It seemed an age before Daniel felt Jack stir in his arms.

"Jack?"

"Hmmmm?"

"You awake?"

"Daniel?" Jack mumbled incoherently before trying to clear his throat. He tried once more.

"Daniel? That you?" His eyes seemed plastered together and were refusing to open as yet, and that damned annoying frog was still firmly wedged in his throat. He felt something touch his lips and he swallowed the offered cool water gratefully. Satisfied he was feeling slightly better and his throat was now moist enough to speak, he tried yet again.

"Jack? How do you feel?"

"I'm okay. Daniel..." Huh?

Jack wondered where that squeaky voice came from...it certainly wasn't from him, was it? Jack's hand grasped at his throat, but could feel nothing amiss...except...what the? He scrambled free of Daniel's hold and stood on shaky legs looking down at himself. His almost naked self!

"Oh for crying out loud! Look at me," he squeaked, annoyed further when his voice betrayed him again. "Crap! Daniel! Just what the hell did you touch?"

"I didn't touch anything Jack, I swear I didn't!" Daniel replied, feeling flustered under his friends accusing glare. "Everything happened as soon as you walked into the middle of this room."

"So how the hell did I end up like this?" Jack snapped back at him angrily, slapping his hands on his waist in disgust.

"I don't know," Daniel sighed, trying to calm Jack down. "but I guess it has something to do with the inscription on the altar. Sam's working on it now to see if we can reverse it. I've tried Jack, but I can't find anything that helps. Sorry!"

Jack's anger suddenly dissipated when he felt his knees go weak. He sat back down on the hard floor abruptly, turning pale and sweaty as the room spun round him.

"Jack? Jack, what's the matter?" Daniel asked worriedly, reaching out a steadying hand towards his friend. Or should that be former friend?

"Daniel...I...ah...I don't feel so good... Ah crap!"

Jack paled even more and then promptly passed out. Daniel caught him as he toppled over, and then kept him cradled against his chest. He yelled for Sam, and she double timed it into the room followed quickly by Teal'c. She dropped down beside the two ready to check her CO's vitals once more.

"Sam?" Daniel was desperate to find out why Jack was lying there unresponsive yet again.

"I don't know Daniel. As far as I can tell he's just unconscious; his pulse is strong if a little on the fast side, and he is breathing normally. His forehead feels a little warmer than it should, but I just don't know why!"

"I think we should get him back to the SGC as soon as we can."

"I believe you are correct Daniel Jackson, though I also believe O'Neill would prefer it if his return there was not witnessed by so many who could observe his present dilemma."

Both Sam and Daniel gaped up at the huge Jaffa and then at each other.

"I never thought about that," they both said together then looked back down at their CO.

"I also believe it would be judicious to restrict this knowledge to General Hammond and Dr. Fraiser only. If the NID were to somehow learn of O'Neill's misfortune then his future may very well be placed in jeopardy."

"Oh god! They could do anything to him and he'd be powerless to fight back," Daniel gasped, looking down on Jack's lax features. "He...he's so 'vulnerable' right now."

"I know!" Sam agreed. "Look you two wait here for him to recover. I'm gonna go back to the SGC to explain as much as I can to General Hammond. We're not in any danger here. As far as Teal'c and I saw there is nothing here to cause any problems. I'll dial the gate back to give you the all clear, and then you can bring him home. You may have to carry him of course."

Teal'c nodded in agreement.

"This would seem the most logical step Major Carter," he said gently. "O'Neill will be safe with us," he added seeing the look of utter despondency on Sam's face.

"You be careful out there Sam and we'll see you soon."

"It'll take a while Daniel, but I'll get back to you as quickly as I can."

Sam gathered her things together and paused for a moment to brush an errant strand of hair away from Jack's face, her slender fingers lingering for a moment over his cheek. He looked so charming lying there in an apparent deep sleep; his once weathered features now smooth and relaxed. She stood and with a last lingering look down at her unconscious CO and then she set off across the barren landscape towards the Stargate.

OoOoOoOoO

Daniel felt Jack stir and sighed in relief. But, things were different now. Jack was different. How would the intrepid warrior take it this time, he wondered. Would he still be angry or would he be more patient and willing to wait until they could figure out the problem and restore him to normal? Either way, Jack wasn't going to be pleased that they were taking him back to see Janet in his present state.

Jack's dark eyes flickered and opened and Daniel leant over him to gauge his reaction. When it did come it was nothing like they had expected at all.

Jack cried out in alarm and scrambled out of Daniel's arms, backing himself into a corner of the room, making himself as small as possible while Teal'c quickly headed him away from the open doorway; they couldn't afford to let him loose on the planet in case he got lost.

After the initial shock at his friend's actions, Daniel recovered in time to tentatively broach Jack's apparent uneasiness.

"Um...Jack?" Daniel wondered what on 'earth' was going on in Jack's mind.

Jack turned those huge round dark chocolate eyes towards him; his bottom lip quivering slightly as he warily watched the man approach.

"Wh...who are you? Wh...where's my Mommy and Daddy?"

Daniel's eyebrows shot up and he gasped in surprise, exchanging puzzled looks with Teal'c.

"It would appear that O'Neill no longer recognises us Daniel Jackson."

Teal'c's deep voice resonated around the chamber and Jack fairly leapt into the air and then jammed himself further into the corner, huge tears rolling down his grubby face which he quickly buried it in his arms and bent knees.

Daniel glared at Teal'c for having startled the young boy that Jack had now become and that they should tread carefully with him from now on. Gingerly he approached Jack once more.

"Jack. It is Jack isn't it?"

The child peered through his long, thin limbs and nodded with a sniff.

"Look, we're not going to hurt you. We're your friends. I'm Daniel, that big guy over there is Teal'c, he's a friend too. It's okay, honest. Nobody's going to hurt you, I promise."

"Are you gonna take me to find my Mom and Dad?" Jack said, finally looking at him. He sniffed back the tears before wiping his runny nose on the now baggy sleeve of his T-shirt. The only item of clothing that remained on him.

Daniel didn't answer straight away, but smiled reassuringly.

"They're not actually here Jack, but we are gonna take you home," he compromised. "Are you hungry? I'm sure we can find you some apple pie and whipped cream in the commissary. Would you like that?"

Jack sniffed again but nodded, still doubtful of these strangers but seeing as his folks weren't here he had to trust them if he wanted to get home. Putting all his faith into the man with the smiling face in front of him he placed his small hand into Daniel's. Daniel encouraged Jack to come forward and to say 'Hi' to Teal'c.

Still clinging to Daniel's hand, but staying well back, Jack looked up at the huge warrior and tilted his head back to take in his full height. He'd never seen anyone so huge. Teal'c smiled down at the boy, who debated whether or not he really wanted to know this giant. Jack studied the weathered face and frowned.

"What is that?" Jack asked pointing to the golden tattoo on Teal'c's forehead, feeling braver because Daniel still had a hold on his hand and had promised him that he would be safe.

"It is a symbol of my allegiance to the false god Apophis whom I no longer serve, O'Neill."

Jack's eyes glazed over at Teal'c's confounding explanation but he ended up sighing in exasperation and glaring up at the giant.

"My name's Jack. It's not 'O'Neill'. That's what everyone calls my dad."

"Indeed O'Neill," Teal'c returned out of habit.

"Oh for cryin' out loud!" Jack stomped his foot in frustration. "Can't you say Jack?"

Daniel was barely able to control his mirth at this and had to clamp his free hand over his mouth for fear of upsetting the kid. It was no use though; Jack turned and looked up at him with a scowl.

"What?" Jack demanded.

Daniel cleared his throat, shooting a desperate look at the stoical Jaffa who remained unperturbed and unrepentant at this outburst, except to raise that ubiquitous eyebrow.

"Ah...it's just that you remind me of someone else Jack," he prevaricated.

"Oh. Who?" Jack was full of curiosity now and not so scared any more.

"A...a friend of mine. A really...good friend." Daniel swallowed wondering if they would ever be able to reverse the process and return Jack to his former self. "Um...we'd better pack up and get back to the gate Teal'c. I expect Sam's already at the SGC."

"Who's Sam?" Jack's face clearly portrayed his natural inquisitiveness.

TBC


	4. Return to the Gate

_Hey, sorry to keep you waiting for this, but I hope it was worth it. Thanks as always to everyone who sent in a review - much appreciated I assure you!_

**PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE?**

By LetitiaRichards

_Previously:_

"Who's Sam?" Jack's face clearly portrayed his natural inquisitiveness.

Chapter 4 – Return to the Gate

"Ah…" Daniel thought frantically for a moment; of course little Jack wouldn't know who Sam was, would he? "Um...she's another friend," he explained quickly. "Sam is actually Samantha Carter. She's really nice."

"Sam's a girl?" Jack cried in disbelief. How could this Daniel work with a girl?

"Ah yeah, but you'll like her Jack," Daniel said hurriedly, barely stopping himself from adding that at least the adult Jack did; more than he should really given their positions within the military.

Jack looked dubious about that and pulled a face which Daniel interpreted as meaning that it was highly unlikely.

"Are you two married?"

Daniel choked back a snort at the innocent question and then calmed himself with an inward chuckle wondering about the irony of that. If the adult Jack thought that he would dare to be in any kind of relationship with Sam, he'd probably deck him, and there would surely be a lot more aggravation between him and Jack than their usual disagreements.

"Um...That would be a no. Sam's a team-mate as well as a good friend," Daniel responded with a relieved sigh. Yes, he was fond of Sam but he was much fonder of keeping his head squarely on his shoulders thank you!

"Major Carter is a formidable warrior O'Neill," Teal'c added, noticing Daniel struggling to maintain his equilibrium after Jack's poignant question.

"Jack!" Jack reminded him with a scowl, and then when the information the Jaffa had imparted registered, his eyes widened in surprise. "She's a soldier?" His wide eyes travelled over Daniel and Teal'c, noticing their clothes and weapons for the first time. "Are you soldiers too?"

"Indeed we are," Teal'c confirmed, though he did manage to refrain from adding 'O'Neill' or 'Jack' to the end of his sentence.

"Ah cool. I wanna join the Air Force when I grow up. I'm gonna fly planes."

Daniel looked down at the kid that had Jack's dark eyes and expressive features and registered the hope and yearning in the boy. Even at this young age, he couldn't mistake the real desire and earnestness in that determined face.

"I'm sure you will one day Jack," Daniel assured him, knowing full well that adult Jack was considered an exceptional pilot by those in the know.

Teal'c had already gathered all of Jack's things together and packed them away. Unfortunately though, they had nothing that would fit a four year old Jack, so, much to his disgust, he had to keep on the loose T-shirt to cover himself up with, despite the wide neck which kept sliding off his narrow shoulders. It was fortunate for him that the hemline came down past his knees affording him some dignity at least. Daniel slipped Jack's own jacket onto the boy for warmth, pushing up the sleeves as much as he could, zipping it up and tying the discarded belt round his waist to keep it snug.

Once they were ready to go Teal'c shouldered the extra backpack and carried Jack's discarded P90 along with his staff weapon, while Daniel held onto the child's hand for the long walk back to the Stargate.

After the obviously slow walk for Jack's sake it was about forty-five minutes or thereabouts later that Jack began to fidget, making Daniel wonder what was wrong with him.

"Are you okay Jack?" Daniel asked stopping and looking down at his charge.

Jack sighed impatiently and looked around the area suspiciously.

"What is it?" Now Daniel was well aware of Jack's spidery sixth sense when it came to being off world and trusted him implicitly to know when things were about to go south during a mission. He was wondering if Jack was sensing something he couldn't. Quietly he slipped his hand down to rest on the cool metal of his Beretta.

Jack obviously noticed Daniel's move and flinched away from him, his huge dark eyes widened in terror and he released a startled gasp of fear.

"I'm sorry. Hey, please don't hurt me. I...I just wanna pee!" Jack cried looking up into Daniel's surprised face.

"What?" Daniel was just as perplexed by Jack's reaction to him as Jack had been by Daniel's move.

"The boy merely wishes to relieve himself Daniel Jackson. I believe you have alarmed him by reaching for your weapon."

"What?" Daniel repeated, then realised what he had done by instinct and removed his hand from the weapon as if burned, then held his hands out towards Jack. "No, no. It's okay. I'm sorry. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise." Daniel knelt down beside the boy and laid his hands on his shoulders. "I would never hurt you Jack. Do you understand? I'm...I'm your friend." Daniel assured him. Jack looked deep into the man's blue eyes and knew he could trust him. He gave a nod of acceptance.

"Right, okay, let's go over there behind that tree..."

"Hey! I can go by myself!" Jack stated adamantly. "I don't need anyone to hold my hand. I'm not a baby!"

"Fine then. We'll wait right here."

Jack nodded once more before hurrying off to stand behind the tree. He gave Daniel and Teal'c a quick glance to make sure they were still there before taking care of business. Feeling much better he sauntered back to them and smiled in relief when neither of the men passed any comment.

They fell into step again and Daniel smiled when he felt the small hand slip back into his after a few steps.

The journey was long and boring, and only ten minutes had passed by when Jack's tired whine splintered the silent air that had shrouded them as they walked.

"Are we there yet?"

"Not yet, but it shouldn't be too long now," Daniel replied patiently while trying to get his head round idea that Jack really was this little kid. He'd have recognised that telltale whine even with his eyes closed. He mentally pinched himself and reminded his brain that this was after all was said and done, still a small child just like any other. A child, who wouldn't know what the heck the Stargate was, let alone the SGC or the people who worked there, especially if he couldn't even remember who he and Teal'c were.

"Are we going home by train?" Jack sounded somewhat eager at the thought of riding a train.

"Ah...no...we're..."

"Oh..." He sounded a little disappointed, but cheered up again when he thought of another mode of transport that he would love to go home in. "An airplane then?"

"Um...no. Sorry Jack." And Daniel was, because he knew how much Jack loved to fly. "We're gonna walk a little ways more and then we'll be going through something called a Stargate. It's a big round ring and we have to use a device called a DHD to dial home and then we can step into it and we end up at...home. Well, that's not strictly true, but it's too complicated to explain it in detail," Daniel waffled.

"Huh?" Jack gaped up at him, totally perplexed by Daniel's description.

"Trust me. You'll love it," Daniel said with a wide grin, recalling how much the adult Jack always got confused with too many details but always got a huge buzz when he got to go through the gate. He'd never tired of it, even after almost five years on the job, but there was no way he would ever admit to that.

"Oh. Okay," Jack sighed. He just hoped they'd get there real soon because he was so tired, and all he really wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep. He wanted to be tucked up in bed and for his mom to read to him.

His little legs were burning with fatigue, but he never complained, however Daniel noticed his weary gait and the odd sniff of a small child who was trying hard to hide his tears. Daniel stopped and Jack looked up at him with red rimmed eyes burning with fatigue and withholding tears.

"You want me to carry you?"

Jack scowled, looking horrified by the thought, but then hung his head in embarrassment when he couldn't stop the sudden yawn or the trickle of tired tears from making a sudden appearance.

"Jack? Hey...it's okay," Daniel reassured him, squatting down to Jack's level and placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's okay to be tired and upset, but I'm your friend, and friends help each other, right?"

After a few moments hesitation, Jack nodded and moved closer to Daniel's chest, throwing his small arms around the archaeologist's neck. Teal'c grasped Daniel's elbow to steady him as he stood and straightened up with the extra weight. Jack nestled into the warm neck and brought his thumb to his mouth, feeling safe and secure in the firm grip. Despite not having his parents around he felt comfortable with Daniel, instinctively trusting him, though he was still a little wary of Teal'c.

"Daniel?" Jack's voice was soft and timid.

"Yeah?"

Jack smothered another yawn before he asked another question.

"You will wake me up when we get to the Star...Stargate, won't you? I wanna see it," he begged.

"Of course I will Jack," Daniel reassured him. "Now, go to sleep, you're safe. I've got you."

"I know." Came the soft reply, and Daniel had to smile to himself when it sounded just like the adult Jack again. Jack snuggled closer.

"Daniel."

"Hmmm? What?"

"I like you."

"Um...good. That's good," he replied gently, barely keeping the slight tremor of emotion from his voice, "because I like you too Jack."

Daniel felt humbled at Jack's confession. It made him feel that maybe it was within the realm of possibility, that had he met Jack outside of the SGC, they could still have been friends.

"Thanks," came the sleepy and mumbled reply as Jack's thumb was slipped back into his mouth and his eyes closed in sleep.

TBC


	5. Meeting Sam & General Hammond

_Hi, here's chapter 5 so I hope you enjoy it._

_Here's one for VisualIDentificationZeta - you did ask for something slightly embarrassing - well, already done so here you are. Not quite what you wanted but I hope you like it just the same._

_Thanks to everyone for their reviews. I need all the encouragement I can get at the moment. _

**PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE?**

By LetitiaRichards

_Previously:_

"Thanks," came the sleepy and mumbled reply as Jack's thumb was back in his mouth and his eyes closed in sleep.

Chapter 5 – Meeting Sam & General Hammond

"DanielJackson."

Daniel raised his downcast eyes from where he was concentrating on putting his feet over the rocky ground. The last thing he needed to do was trip and fall, perhaps dropping Jack or landing on top of him.

Teal'c was pointing to a dot on the horizon where Daniel could just make out the very top of the Stargate peeking over the tops of the trees. He sighed with relief; Jack was growing heavy in his arms.

"Allow me to take O'Neill from you DanielJackson," the tall Jaffa volunteered.

"Ah, no thanks Teal'c. He's okay. I don't want to wake him up just yet and it's not so far now."

"As you wish." Teal'c dipped his head in acceptance and then fell silent again, turning to focus his thoughts instead onto keeping Daniel and the young Jack O'Neill safe. Despite knowing that there was probably no danger to be found on this planet, it was the least he could do; he wished no harm to befall his team-mates; his friends. Though what that entailed now, with O'Neill reduced to a mere child with no knowledge of him or the Stargate Programme, nobody could know.

The shade from the trees meant the air was relatively cooler and Daniel could feel Jack shiver slightly at the difference in temperature. Daniel tried to compensate by holding Jack tighter, but instead, disturbed him into wakefulness.

Jack's blonde tousled head rose from Daniel's shoulder and the thumb dropped from his mouth as he looked around himself at the strange landscape. His dark hazel eyes grew as large and round as dinner plates when they alighted onto the grey metal surface of the strange ring that stood in the centre of the clearing they were just entering.

"What's that?" Jack asked curiously while wriggling so much that Daniel was forced to put him down before he dropped him.

"We have to go through that to get home again. It's a bit like a roller coaster ride Jack, you'll just love it!"

"Really? Cool!" Jack ran ahead and up the three steps, coming to a halt a few feet away from the giant ring.

Daniel couldn't help exchanging grins with Teal'c at Jack's comment; it was so much like the adult they knew so well. As he drew nearer to the DHD he watched for Jack's reactions to the Stargate.

"How does it work?" Jack demanded, gazing up at the Stargate as it towered above him, his small hands resting against the grey metallic surface as he tilted his head backwards for a better look.

"Um...You'll have to ask Sam about that," Daniel replied with a grin. Wouldn't Sam love that...Jack actually curious about how the Stargate worked? Daniel couldn't help but wonder again about what had happened in Jack's life to make him shun away from any detailed explanations about how things worked in his older self. The Colonel they knew would stop both Sam and himself from getting past the first sentence, blocking his ears to the rest with a definite 'Ack!' and waving of hands. "But, all I have to do is to dial the right symbols on this device to open the wormhole."

"The what? Wormhole?" Jack turned back and looked over at Daniel aghast. He wasn't sure he liked the sound of that.

"It's not what you think Jack," Daniel grinned. "As I said, you'll love it. Trust me! Oh, and you have to come and stand next to me, because this next bit is kinda scary."

"Scary?" Jack gulped. "But you said I'd love it?"

"And you will, but I have to open it up first and it's only scary because it's dangerous if you stand too close."

"Oh! Okay."

Jack shrugged and went to stand next to Daniel where he stood on tip-toe to peer over the side of the DHD to see what his new friend was doing. Teal'c stood next to him, ready to grab Jack in case he made a dash for the wormhole before Daniel could send the iris code. The last thing they wanted was for Jack to go splat against Earth's defence shield.

Daniel finally hit the large orange crystal and the Stargate burst into life. Jack flinched back, hiding behind Daniel, gasping in disbelief when the wormhole established. Instead of rushing into it he held onto Daniel's arm as tightly as he could. Looking up at Daniel he was reassured by the man's calm demeanour, but he couldn't find it in himself to relax too; he wasn't quite so sure about going through that glowing puddle.

Daniel sent the code and waited for the all clear. Barely half a minute passed by before he announced that it was safe to go home.

Daniel took hold of Jack's small hand and gently pulled him up the steps to stand just in front of the event horizon. Daniel was surprised when Jack drew back from him, trying to back-pedal away from it.

"Jack? What's wrong?" Daniel asked with a puzzled frown. He could see Jack looked rather scared; his eyes fixed on the water-like surface just a metre away.

"W...w...we gotta go through that?" Jack asked fearfully.

"Yes. It's okay. Honest. It won't hurt you, I promise." Daniel couldn't for the life of him wonder why Jack was reluctant to go through it. The boy just kept shaking his head saying 'No, no, no...'.

"Jack? Don't you want to go home?"

Jack gulped and his breathing speeded up as he grew more apprehensive, catching his bottom lip to stop it from quivering.

Daniel squatted down in front of his friend, looking straight into his tearful eyes.

"What is it Jack?" Daniel soothed the child by holding him gently and cradling the back of his head.

A single tear escaped the boy's long lashes and rolled freely down his cheek. Daniel wiped it away with a thumb as Jack sniffed, trying to stop any more from forming.

"I...I can't swim."

Jack's innocent statement made Daniel's heart bleed. Of course Jack wouldn't understand. He drew Jack closer into a hug and was rewarded by a tighter one in return where he could feel Jack shaking with fright.

"It's not water Jack. I know it looks like a big puddle of water, but it's not. You won't have to swim or even hold your breath. As I said...it's like a roller coaster. You'll be okay. I swear to god, you'll really love it."

"Promise?" came the muffled question.

"I promise!" Daniel replied with a big smile.

So it was that Jack held onto Daniel's hand as the archaeologist stood. Looking up into Daniel's face, he placed all his trust into his new friend as they stepped into the shimmering wormhole to take them back to Earth.

By the time they emerged from the wormhole into the SGC, Jack was wide eyed and happy as Larry. He was practically jumping up and down, and virtually demanding that they go through it again and again. He tried pulling Daniel back to the shimmering flux, but Daniel kept him firmly in hand and far away from it, while Teal'c stood in his way.

"Wow! That was just soooo cool! Can we do it again Daniel? Can we? Please?"

Daniel couldn't help but smile, it was just so cute to see this little live-wire version of Jack. Of course if and when Jack returned to his normal age, they would be able to rag him endlessly over his obvious unbridled enthusiasm, even if he didn't remember it.

Daniel looked up to see Sam standing next to General Hammond at the foot of the ramp, obviously sharing Daniel's amusement judging by the wide smiles on both their faces. Sam had obviously filled him in while they'd waited.

"Ah, General Hammond," Daniel started, pulling a reluctant Jack towards the waiting officers. "This is Jack. Jack this is General Hammond and..."

"You a real General?" Jack questioned, gaping wide-eyed at the bald-headed man in uniform that was smiling straight at him.

"That I am son," Hammond replied with a twinkle in his eye. 'So,' he thought, 'this is what Jack was like when he was a little kid?'

"Really?" Jack's dark eyes were huge with amazement.

Hammond nodded again.

"Wow!"

Jack then surprised them all by pulling his hand from Daniel's and jumping to attention. His back ram-rod straight, head up, he gave a snappy salute.

"Jack O'Neill reporting sir!" he declared seriously, waiting for Hammond to return the gesture, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the amused grey ones of the General.

"At ease son," Hammond ordered with apparent gravity, giving him back a text-book salute in response.

Jack relaxed again with an even bigger grin, then turned towards Sam with a curious expression on his face as he eyed her up and down.

"Jack, this is Sam," Daniel stated quickly.

Sam was so besotted with the child's behaviour and his killer smile that she almost forgot that it was Jack inside that, oh so cute, little body. This four year old boy had a really gorgeous open face framed by short blonde hair. His dark eyes seemed bigger than she had ever seen them, but she could recognise the familiar expressions that ran over his features without a shadow of a doubt, even to the extent of that little vertical crease between his eyebrows.

"Sam!" Daniel whispered breaking into her reverie.

"Oh. Sorry. Hi there, I'm Samantha Carter, or Sam to you sir...um...Jack. Your...em... I'm Daniel's and Teal'c's team-mate. And friend." She smiled widely at him, feeling more than a little self-conscious under the intense gaze he was casting her way, but no more for that this was Jack O'Neill and even in this child-size body he had her insides melting. He really was a good-looking kid. Though the last time she'd seen him he'd been her Colonel; so this was just so very weird.

Jack cocked his head on one side to look at her closely, his brow furrowed in concentration before he broke out in one of those familiar lop-sided grins she knew so well. He turned to look up at Daniel and tugged on Daniel's hand to get his attention.

"I think you were right Daniel," he whispered not quite so softly so that everyone could still hear him. "I like her already. A lot!" he turned back to Sam with that killer smile. "Hey, can you arm-wrestle Sam?"

Sam clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle her snort of amusement. Even General Hammond had to carefully school his features and look away. It hadn't escaped his notice that there had been something unspoken between his two best officers as they walked very near to that line, if not actually on it. Whenever they were in the same room he was well aware of the underlying tensions between them. He knew he could trust them and that they hadn't actually crossed that line as yet, but it was just a matter of time before they couldn't hold back the tide of emotions they held so close to the surface. 'Out of the mouths of babes...' he mused, rolling his eyes.

Daniel was acutely aware that Jack had said something significant, but couldn't place it in context, though judging by Sam's reaction and Hammond's carefully schooled features it was something big. He would have to pump Sam about it when Jack wasn't in close proximity.

"What? What'd I say?" Jack asked perplexed as to what had caused such a reaction. He'd only asked a question. He loved arm-wrestling. He and his brother used to do it all the time. Big brother Patrick was the champion of St. Barnabas' elementary classes.

"Doctor Jackson would you take 'Jack' to the infirmary," Hammond ordered after clearing his throat. "I want a thorough examination done by Dr. Fraiser, including a DNA test. She's expecting you."

"Yes sir."

Daniel made to walk towards the exit door, but Jack stood rooted to the spot and refused to move.

"Jack?"

"I'm not sick!" the boy declared stubbornly.

"I know, but everyone has to get checked out by the Doctor when they get back."

"Back? Back from where?"

"From whatever plan...er...place they've been to."

"Why?"

"Um...because that's the way we do things around here. It's a rule."

"I don't like needles. Doctors are always poking holes in me with honkin' big needles," he complained with a pout.

Sam was having a hard time stopping herself from giggling. She exchanged a raised eyebrow with Daniel, and watched as Teal'c's own brows rose even higher. There was no doubt in her mind that this youngster was definitely Colonel Jack O'Neill.

"I'm not too keen on them myself Jack, but we don't have a choice. Maybe when we've all been checked over, Sam will find you some games to play."

"What sort of games?" Jack asked, but he did start moving with them towards the elevator at last.

Hammond found himself laughing softly as he climbed back up the stairs to the control room. Walter Davis was grinning widely too, but the General knew that he would reveal nothing about this to a living soul. He would trust the sergeant with his life. In fact they all did; and on a daily basis too.

TBC


	6. Infirmary Blues

_Hi everyone, thanks again for your wonderful comments. _

_I'm upping the angst a little here, but if you've read any of my fics before you know how it will turn out. There's a lot more to come yet, so enjoy it while you can._

**PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE?**

By LetitiaRichards

_Previously:_

Hammond found himself laughing softly as he climbed back up the stairs to the control room. Walter Davis was grinning widely too, but the General knew that he would reveal nothing about this to a living soul. He would trust the Sergeant with his life. In fact they all did; and on a daily basis too.

Chapter 6 – Infirmary Blues

It was official. Daniel was getting a headache.

Jack had asked endless questions during the ride up to the infirmary, leaving Daniel's head in a spin. Though, miraculously, the constant stream of 'whys' stopped the moment they entered the hallowed domain of Dr. Janet Fraiser.

Jack pushed himself against the back of Daniel's legs, trying to hide from the inevitable. He found himself peering up at a diminutive red-headed woman in a white coat; the ubiquitous stethoscope slung casually round her neck, and she was smiling down at him with an amused expression.

"So," she began, squatting down to his level. "you must be Jack?"

Jack nodded, venturing out from his hiding place a little bit to get a closer look at her.

"I'm Doctor Fraiser, but you can call me Janet, okay?"

Jack nodded. He found himself quite liking the Doctor. She seemed nice; her face was kind and her eyes twinkled with laughter. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

Janet held out her hand as she stood, and Jack tentatively placed his into it, still looking up at her face to see if she would suddenly change into a dragon. The last Doctor he'd seen hurt him enough to make him cry, something for which he'd been ridiculed about by his daddy.

"_You gotta be tough in this world son. Don't let them see they've hurt you. It's a sign of weakness. I won't have no son of mine branded a sissy because he cried!"_

Jack recalled those words so clearly now, as if they were spoken to him yesterday, but then, maybe that was only yesterday; he just couldn't remember. How did he get lost anyway? Did he run away? Where was he when Daniel found him? Why was he there? Who were these people really? What was this place?

"Jack? Are you okay sweetie?"

Janet was leaning over him, feeling his forehead.

He wanted to say he wasn't, but he couldn't bring himself to give in to it.

"I'm fine!" he snapped tersely, taking everyone by surprise at the vehemence of his words.

Janet straightened, startled by his sudden shift in attitude.

"Jack?" Daniel came closer and grabbing Jack's shoulder swung him gently round to face him, a puzzled frown marring his face. "What was that all about?"

Jack couldn't look him in the eye; his gaze dropped to the floor and he sniffed unhappily. By the look on Daniel's face, Jack felt like he'd just disappointed him; like he tended to do so often with his daddy. He didn't mean to sound so rude because he did like these people, but he wasn't feeling so good now. Jack bit his bottom lip to stop it from trembling. He was so hot and his head felt funny and he wanted his mommy.

"Jack?" Daniel suddenly paled when he realised what was happening. "Oh god. Janet, what's wrong with him?"

Daniel was sent into a panic as soon as he saw Jack sway. He caught the boy quickly before he could hit the floor. Jack was out for the count, lying limp in his arms.

Janet leapt into action, taking his vitals while ordering Daniel to lay Jack onto the bed. Another nurse came along and waved them out of the room so that Janet could conduct her exam without an audience, but Daniel refused to leave. Jack trusted him, and he didn't want him to wake up confused only to find that he was left all alone with virtual strangers. He just couldn't leave him.

"Let him stay!" Janet yelled over her shoulder as she whipped off the clothes covering Jack so that she could check him over properly.

Daniel stood at the bottom of the bed and quietly watched as Janet reeled off a list of tests to be carried out. Blood samples to be taken and CAT and MRI scans to be arranged.

After what seemed an eternity, Janet finally covered Jack with the bed-clothes, running a hand gently over Jack's brow, soothing his restiveness.

"Janet?"

The Doctor gasped at the softly spoken sound of her name. She'd completely forgotten Daniel was still there, waiting for news.

"Is he okay?"

She smiled down at the small child once more and moved away, confident he was in no danger.

"As far as I can tell he'll be okay. We'll have to wait for the results of the scans when they're done, but most of his vitals seem to be returning to normal..."

"Doc?"

Daniel and Janet spun round in surprise to see Jack's eyes open as he fought to regain consciousness. Both rushed over to his side.

"Colonel?"

"Hot! Wha...hap'nd?" Jack gasped, looking up at Janet. He was so hot and thirsty.

"You have a slight fever Colonel," Janet explained.

"Jack?"

"Thirsty!" World-weary dark brown eyes looked up at his friends and Daniel could once again see his old friend gazing back at him.

Janet offered Jack some ice chips which he relished, then mopped his furrowed and overheated brow with a cloth rinsed in cool water.

"Carter? Teal'c?" he asked, only seeing Daniel whole and hearty leaning over him. Where were the rest of his team?

"Uh...they're fine Jack."

"Colonel, what's the last thing you remember?" Janet asked, realising that though locked into a child's body the adult Jack was back in his right mind.

"PX5...something. I... oh god. Daniel...you touched something." He could remember it now. "I must have been knocked out or whatever because I had some really weird, whacky kind of dream, and I could have sworn I was a kid!" He struggled to look down the bed and lifted the covers. After seeing only a very short version of himself and tiny hands holding the bed-clothes, he let his head fall back onto the pillow once more and dropped the sheets covering him. "Okay...I'm guessing that wasn't a dream, right? So what happened and how'd I get here? And when the hell are you gonna get me...the real me back again?"

Daniel was lost for words. How could he explain to Jack that he'd actually become that child, let alone what he'd said and done as one? It all sounded so... Damn, he just didn't know what to say.

"Daniel? Shouldn't you be working on this problem?" Jack growled in irritation, making the monitors attached to him begin to squeal in alarm.

"Sir, you need to rest. I'm sure that given time Daniel will be able to discover what went wrong and get you back into your proper body again soon," Janet soothed.

"I am the real me, just not...me...apparently." He frowned at his own words. "Did that make any sense?" he queried.

"I think so sir. Now. Rest." With that Janet injected something into his IV line and Jack found himself unable to fight off the sleepiness.

"Damnit Doc!" he muttered before his eyelids closed and the pull of sleep overtook him.

"I'm still staying!" Daniel's every pore oozed resistance to anything Janet could say to him. He just wasn't going to budge from Jack's side.

"Daniel – he'll be out for hours. He won't know you're there," she cried in exasperation. Daniel needed to rest too. He looked drawn and haggard, and she was certain that in his own way it was because he somehow felt responsible for the Colonel's predicament.

"I know you want to stay with him Daniel, but what he really needs is for you to go through all those tapes and notes that you brought back and try to sort out this mess. You can't do that unless you're rested. You're not helping him by staying here and making yourself ill through exhaustion."

Daniel wanted to stay so much but what Janet had said made a whole lot more sense. However he was saved by the appearance of Teal'c and Sam at that moment. They had obviously overheard what had been said because Sam jumped right in there.

"You go and rest Daniel. Teal'c and I will stay with him..."

"You...you know he's back again?" Daniel asked pointedly. "Colonel O'Neill is back inside his head?"

"He is?" Sam appeared shocked. They still hadn't been made aware of what had been happening whilst they had been waiting outside for news. It was only a few moments ago when one of the nurses commented that the boy had been awake.

"Yes, but he doesn't remember much about what happened to him. He thought it was all a dream."

"He has a slight fever too, so I've given him something to combat it, but until Daniel goes through all the information I'm still not sure what I'm dealing with here," Janet cast another annoyed look at the archaeologist before continuing, "He really needs to get some food into him and then rest for at least several hours."

Daniel pouted and looked stubborn, folding his arms across his chest. He sure wasn't a little kid, he was a full grown man and knew exactly what he wanted; and right now Jack needed him.

"O'Neill is resting DanielJackson. You should take full advantage of this opportunity to fulfil your own body's needs. Rest assured that should O'Neill awake you will be duly summoned."

Daniel looked back at his friend lying asleep on the bed; a bed which looked enormous in comparison with the child sized Jack. He really didn't want to go, but reluctantly nodded his head.

"I'll go, but you have to promise to wake me the moment he does."

"We will indeed DanielJackson."

Daniel looked up at Teal'c, seeing the truth and honesty in his dark eyes and knew the giant of a man would keep his word. Entrusting Jack's care to the rest of his team-mates, he left the infirmary, turning once more to look back at Jack before hurrying off towards his lab. A good strong cup of coffee and one of the chocolate bars from his secret hoard and maybe he would take a look at the video while he digested it before lying down for a little while.

TBC


	7. To Be or Not To Be?

_Sorry to keep you all waiting for an update. Thanks for all your great comments as always._

_Here's the next chapter for you to enjoy. _

**PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE?**

By LetitiaRichards

_Previously:_

Daniel looked up at Teal'c, seeing the truth and honesty in his dark eyes and knew the giant of a man would keep his word. Entrusting Jack's care to the rest of his team-mates, he left the infirmary, turning once more to look back at Jack before hurrying off towards his lab. A good strong cup of coffee and one of the chocolate bars from his secret hoard, maybe he would take a look at the video while he digested it before lying down for a little while.

Chapter 7 – To Be or Not To Be?

General Hammond had popped into the infirmary to find out how Jack was doing, but found the Colonel was still asleep. Janet had already explained on the phone to him about what had happened and that Jack was sleeping peacefully now; his temperature having returned to normal once more.

Hammond had then left them to keep their vigil and had ordered them to let him know the moment Colonel O'Neill awoke.

After another 30 minutes of sitting by her CO's side, Sam still couldn't get her head round the fact that this child was the Colonel. It wasn't nearly so bad thinking of him as a little child, but now it appeared that the Colonel was in full control of his memory and wasn't too happy to find himself still a child. She was still deliberating over this fact when she was called away, reluctantly leaving Teal'c to stand watch over the sleeping form.

It wasn't so long after that, that Jack stirred; his eyelids fluttered, blinking several times before opening those dark eyes to look round and then widening in fear. All he could see was the huge Jaffa standing at the foot of his bed in this strange room. Daniel was missing.

"Daniel!" Jack called, sitting up in bed suddenly alarmed by the absence of his friend. "DANIEL!" he screamed, backing up against the headboard.

Janet came running in answer to the sudden yell, only to see Teal'c trying his best to calm down a rather distraught Jack who was trying to pull the IV needle from his arm and the tabs from the monitors off his chest.

"What's going on here Teal'c?" she gasped moving in towards the Colonel when Teal'c's next words stopped her in her tracks.

"It appears that young O'Neill is back, and is in need of DanielJackson. He will not allow me to approach him."

"I want Daniel!" Jack cried, confirming Teal'c's supposition. "Where is he?" He jumped from the bed and insinuated himself in between the bed and the cabinet where he curled over and glared at anyone who might want to touch him.

Janet was stunned. The Colonel's memories had gone once more? There was so more to this than she understood at this point in time. His scans hadn't explained anything; they'd looked perfectly normal, as did his blood-work.

"Okay Teal'c," Janet sighed, mentally rolling her sleeves up for the hard task facing her. It wasn't going to be easy. "I'll handle this; will you please go and find Daniel while I try to placate him?"

Teal'c executed a slight bow, only happy to do something useful, and gladly hurried away as fast as his dignity allowed, leaving Janet to face a screaming child that was still cowering against the wall. It appeared to him as he left the room that the petite doctor was having as much success as he had in calming the boy.

Janet was fighting a losing battle. Obviously Jack wasn't going to settle at all until Daniel arrived.

"Mom? What's going on?"

Janet turned to see Cassie walking towards her.

"It's okay Cassie. He just woke up and was frightened because he's in a strange place that's all. He wants Daniel so I've sent Teal'c off to fetch him."

Cassie approached and gaped down at the boy. He was about four or maybe five years old with wayward blonde hair; his enormous brown eyes were red rimmed and brimming with tears. There was something vaguely familiar about him, though Cassie couldn't place it yet. Without invitation, she moved to kneel down in front of the boy, slowly reaching out a hand towards him.

"Hi there. I'm Cassie. I promise I'm not going to hurt you. So, you like Daniel huh?"

Jack nodded, causing the overflow of tears to cascade down his flushed cheeks. He sniffed and wiped them away with the sleeve of the cut down scrubs he was wearing.

"I like Daniel too. He's a sort of uncle to me, along with Jack and Teal'c, and Sam's like my auntie. Janet's my mom...though not my real mom, 'cause my real mom and dad died. Daniel and the others found me and brought me here. Now I have a new home and a big family," she said with a big grin. "It's like they're all my moms and dads."

Notably, Jack had stopped crying and was actually listening intently to what Cassie was saying, though every now and then he hiccupped with a sob. He wondered maybe, if this was what was going to happen to him now? Nobody here had mentioned his mommy and daddy, so maybe he was all alone now too? He wanted Daniel so much, but maybe Daniel had left him here and gone away. The thought brought forth a fresh round of tears which he tried to swallow. They might tell him off for being a baby, just like his daddy would.

The best thing so far as Janet was concerned was that he had stopped yelling which was a great relief. She quietly stepped away leaving Cassie to continue distracting Jack, and went over to stand by the door. She was desperately waiting for Daniel to arrive, but she also wanted to stop him from charging in there. Janet wanted to see if Cassie could persuade Jack to abandon his hideout and get back into bed. She really needed to examine him again; maybe she'd missed something?

Cassie edged closer until she was knee to knee with the child, talking cheerfully and softly so as not to startle him; even getting him to ask her a couple of questions about her life with Janet and Daniel and the others.

"How old are you?" she asked, reaching out to push a stray lock of hair back from his brow. It showed how much Jack was relaxing with her presence because he never made to pull away from her touch. "You know, you haven't even told me your name yet!" she laughed.

"I'm Jack and I'm nearly five!" he sniffed, but offered Cassie a small smile in return.

Janet watched in amazement as Cassie sweet talked the young Jack into relinquishing his hiding place, even coaxing him to move onto the girl's lap.

Several minutes later, Daniel, looking crumpled and wide eyed with worry, ran down the corridor towards her, and Janet put out one hand to stop him whilst putting a finger to her lips with the other to warn him to be quiet. He looked somewhat puzzled but Janet pointed to where the two youngsters were chatting away happily. Jack now having moved onto Cassie's lap was actually chuckling at something Cassie was telling him.

Sam and Teal'c had arrived right behind Daniel and wanted to know what was going on too. Janet hushed them too and pointed at the giggling pair on the floor.

A smile spread over Janet's face at the sight before her. She turned and saw that it had gotten them all smiling like idiots.

It was then that Jack looked up and caught sight of his friend; his face lighting up in glee.

"Daniel!" he cried, leaping up from Cassie's arms to run across the room to throw himself into Daniel's arms. Daniel squatted ready to receive the boy, his arms spread wide until Jack was hugging him tightly. A hug he returned willingly.

"I was scared Daniel. You weren't here. I thought you'd left me?"

"God, I am so sorry Jack." He glared up at Janet, after all she was the one who told him to leave Jack to go and rest. Jack had obviously reverted back to his younger self when he was asleep and had now been traumatised by the whole thing. And it was only thanks to Cassie that Jack had been able to get through it as only the very young can. "I won't leave you again. I promise." He ran his hand over Jack's head and let it come to rest on Jack's cheek before pulling him closer, unafraid to show his fondness for the small child.

Jack beamed, tightening his arms round Daniel and then burying his head into his shoulder, happy to know Daniel had promised never to leave him.

"I missed you Daniel." Jack's voice still sounded tremulous and frightened.

"I know Jack. I missed you too," Daniel felt so protective of his young friend. Jack had put so much faith into him and he didn't ever want to lose that unquestioning trust.

"You won't leave me Daniel, will you? I'll be good. I promise."

"I know you will Jack and I promise I won't leave you again, okay?"

"Will you look after me just like Dr. Janet looks after Cassie?" he asked pulling back to look into Daniel's moist blue eyes.

Daniel closed his eyes and nodded.

"Yes Jack. I will, for as long as you need me."

"Love you Daniel!" Jack sighed, nestling into the warmth so naturally that it made Daniel's eyes tear up even more. It brought back all those times that he had wished for someone to love him when he was growing up.

Daniel had to blink furiously to stop the moisture from spilling from his eyes and making a fool out of him. He swallowed hard. He wasn't sure if anyone had heard Jack's whispered words, but he could feel a couple of reassuring hands on his back and he dared to look up, giving his friends a shaky smile. There wasn't a dry eye left among the group around them, Janet, had pulled Cassie to her and they were hugging; Sam was trying hard not to cry, and he was sure he had seen Teal'c blink rapidly before he made an excuse to go and inform General Hammond that O'Neill was now awake, but that his memories had deserted him once again.

"You too Jack!" Daniel whispered brokenly into Jack's ear, knowing it was the truth. He had taken to the boy so easily. It could almost be as if Jack were his own son and it was hard for him to deny that feeling, let alone deprive the child who seemed to need him to return those feelings too. "Love you too." He kissed the small head cradled against him and knew without a doubt what he now had to do.

Jack pulled back to look into Daniel's eyes again, and was sporting the biggest grin they had seen in a long time.

"I love Sam and Teal'c and Janet too, ya know. And Cassie!" he cried gleefully, lunging over to reach the teenager who held out her arms to take him from Daniel.

Jack clung to her as she swung him round joyfully; ignoring her mother's plea that Jack wasn't well. Jack was perfectly happy, squealing with delight as they circled round and round, finally stopping only when Cassie almost fell over, too giddy to stay upright.

Daniel lunged for Jack, just as Janet and Sam reached out to steady the girl. Jack wanted more, but Janet was firm in her denial.

"That's enough Jack. I need to check you over again." She ignored the huge disgusted sigh from Jack and turned to Daniel, "Would you put him back on the bed please Daniel?"

"Awww!" he pouted. "I wanna play with Cassie," he grumbled with a frown; that familiar vertical furrow splitting his brow down the middle.

"Later Jack," Daniel reasoned. "Right now we have to make sure you're okay. Janet's got some clothes here too that might fit you. You can't go around wearing those all the time."

While Daniel and Janet were busy with young Jack, Sam reached round Cassie's shoulder to pull her away from the scene.

"Ah...Cassie? Can I have a word with you?" Sam looked over and caught Janet's eye. The Doctor nodded and turned her attention to the boy while Sam took Cassie into Janet's office for a talk.

Daniel watched them go and knew at once what Sam was going to say without being told. He couldn't have followed them even if he'd wanted to as Jack was making sure that Daniel wasn't going anywhere this time. He was holding onto Daniel's sleeve as tenaciously as a dog would guard a favourite bone.

TBC


	8. Something Sweet?

_Thanks as always for your reviews; they're much appreciated._

_Sorry to keep you hanging on for an update, but here is the next chapter - hope you all enjoy it._

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

_Previously:_

Daniel watched them go and knew at once what Sam was going to say without being told. He couldn't have followed them even if he'd wanted to as Jack was making sure that Daniel wasn't going anywhere this time, because he held onto Daniel's sleeve as tenaciously as a dog would guard a favourite bone.

Chapter 8 – Something Sweet?

Sam sat Cassie down on one of the chairs and pulled hers up close. She took Cassie's hand in hers and cleared her throat.

"Cassie..." she began, but the girl headed her off.

"This is about that kid, Jack, isn't it?"

Sam nodded silently, still trying to figure out how to say what she had to.

"I like him. I think he's so sweet. Don't you think he's cute Sam? He has such wonderful wide chocolate eyes, and he's so full of fun..."

Sam gulped, feeling the rush of emotions colour her face.

"Um...Cassie...look... Jack's not..."

"What's wrong with him?" Cassie demanded, sensing that there was something more to this than she had expected. Was he here to be cured and then sent back to his own planet and she shouldn't get too involved? Was he going to die?

"Cassie, what do you see out there?" Sam pointed out of the window at Janet and Daniel standing beside Jack as he lay impatiently waiting, and whining, for Janet to hurry up and finish.

"I see a cute little kid that's fun to be with. Why?"

"Because that is sooo not a cute little kid out there Cass. As much as he looks and acts like a little child, he isn't."

"What? What are you saying Sam?"

"On our last mission something went wrong. Colonel O'Neill was... well, he got caught up in some sort of energy beam..."

"Are you saying that... that… that's... Oh my god!" she swung around to face Sam once more, her mouth dropping open in disbelief.

"Are you serious? That, that kid is...is really... That's really our Colonel? That it's Jack O'Neill out there?"

Sam nodded, relieved that Cassie had understood where she had been going, albeit in a roundabout way. Cassie was always quick on the uptake.

Cassie's eyes were huge with surprise as she stood and took a closer look at the scene outside the little window overlooking the main infirmary room just to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

"Will he have to stay like that?" she asked dumbfounded to think that she had been playing with her 'uncle' Jack. He had actually sat on her lap while she told him stories of his older self's antics over the years she had known him. She'd watched as he cried out for Daniel and wiped the tears off his face when she'd chatted to him. Once upon a time, not actually that long ago, it had been the other way round; when she was younger she'd often climbed onto his lap and curled up against him to listen to his stories of SG-1's adventures. He was always such great fun to be with.

"We don't know what will happen to him Cass. Right now he keeps switching backwards and forwards between what you've seen him like and his usual older self, though still in a child's body. He's sooo not a happy camper by what your mom says. Daniel's going to go over some of the videos he took of the temple or whatever it was where this happened to see if he can figure out how to get 'our' Colonel back. As it stands at the moment, he doesn't really know who we are or what we do here or what he's doing here for that matter. He's very confused right now."

"He trusts Daniel though." It was neither a statement nor a question and Sam could feel a little jealous pang roll through her because it was true. She only wished Jack would show her a little more attention and if the truth were known a little more affection too. Not that she begrudged Daniel really. After all, the two of them had already been good friends before she came on the scene, and maybe something inside the Colonel realised, remembered, recalled or whatever, that it had always been like that between them.

"Yes. Yes he does." Sam's voice sounded distant and a little wistful too, making Cassie really look at her in depth. She had always felt that Sam and Jack had something going between them, though neither would admit there was anything going on when she'd asked. But, she wasn't blind, and just because she was young it didn't mean she was stupid either. She had seen the looks they'd sent each other when they thought nobody was looking. She recalled asking her Mom about it only to be told that she had been imagining things, that it was against the regulations and that she should mind her own business.

"You know. I thought he looked familiar but I just couldn't place it. Now of course I can see it. What's going to happen if Daniel can't work out how to change him back?"

"I...I don't know. Maybe we can ask Thor or perhaps the Tok'ra..."

"Jack doesn't entirely trust the Tok'ra," Cassie was quick to point out. "He does like Thor though."

Sam smiled. She couldn't help but remember their past encounters with the Asgard's Supreme Commander. Jack had treated the little grey alien just like anyone else he knew, like a buddy, although he did have a healthy respect for Thor's people. If it wasn't for them, he certainly wouldn't have lived this long. For some strange reason Jack was their first choice of contact. They trusted him implicitly. She did too, so where did that leave them now?

What would come of their unspoken promises to leave it in that room for the time being? She could only hope that Thor could help them restore Jack to his rightful body and mind. If not, whoever was responsible for doing this to him would have succeeded where the Goa'uld had failed, and she would give up the fight and retire somewhere far away where she would have to learn to live with her broken heart.

The door crashing open abruptly interrupted her morbid thoughts and she was shaken slightly when she realised it was Jack standing there, looking up at Cassie.

"Cassie!" he cried with delight. "Your mom says I can go get something to eat in the comm...comisery? Wanna come too? Daniel's taking me. Then I have to go talk to General...um..."

"Hammond," Cassie finished for him. "And it's a Commissary."

"Yeah. Him and that. Are you coming too Sam? Daniel said they had some cake there?"

Sam snorted and broke out into a big smile. Cassie was right. He was so cute; she couldn't stay gloomy around him for long. Never could.

"Okay Jack. Let's go."

Jack grabbed one of Cassie's hands and one of Sam's too and pulled them from the room, impatient to get going.

"Hey!" called Sam. Where's the fire?"

"Fire?" Jack stopped and stared back at her with a puzzled frown. "There's a fire?" He looked a little worried.

"Um...it's just an expression Jack. It means, what's your hurry?"

"I'm hungry," he retorted seriously. "I don't want to miss out on the cake. Someone else might eat it."

Sam couldn't help but smile. Jack O'Neill big or small obviously had a thing about cake.

She stopped him and walked over to the phone on the wall, dialling a number.

"Hey Gary?"

Jack stood with his hands on his hips looking daggers at Sam for holding him back from his food. His stomach was making loud noises. What was she doing?

"Can you put four slices of chocolate cake by for us? We'll be there in a minute. Yeah it's for someone very special." She paused while she listened to Gary for a moment. "Ah...no, the Colonel isn't here right now." Again she listened, biting her bottom lip. "No that's alright. Don't bother. He won't be back for some time. Maybe a few days or a week or so. We're not sure. It's a need to know mission. Thanks." She replaced the phone and smiled down at Jack.

"See. Now they've put some by for us so that nobody else can eat it. Okay?"

"Yeah!" Jack shrieked, jumping up and down then raced round the room like an airplane, arms outstretched.

A moment later, when Janet had successfully blocked out Jack's piercing yelling, she heard something clattering to the floor and turned, as did everyone else to find a trolley had come off the worse from the attack by one pint sized Jack O'Neill. Medical instruments lay scattered across the floor along with several now un-sterile dressings.

"Janet," Daniel whispered from behind her, seeing Jack standing stock still amongst the debris, his mouth open in horror at what he'd done. "He's just a child!" Daniel reminded her.

Jack tried to apologise, he really did, but the look on Janet's face scared him speechless. When she did speak he was thankful he didn't come out of this with an overly warm, reddened butt.

Janet straightened her spine, plastered a false smile on her lips and shooed everyone out of her infirmary, telling them not to come back unless it was urgent.

Daniel didn't wait for her to change her mind. He grabbed Jack and hauled him through the door, followed quickly by Cassie, and then Sam, who was trying to apologise for Jack's little 'accident'.

After everyone had rushed from the room, Janet surveyed the area. Jack had obviously been over the entire room judging by the rumpled sheets on several of the beds and other trolley's had been shoved ruthlessly away from their stations. Hands on hips in exasperation, she should have known better. It appeared that Jack O'Neill in either guise could never leave anything alone. How many times had she left him to keep an eye on whichever one of his team was unfortunately lying in one of her beds, and found that his fingers had not been able to resist touching any of the equipment left lying within his reach? Countless times.

Forcing back a reluctant grin, she called on her staff to help her clear up after the mini tornado that was now hopefully tucking into a meal in the commissary. As she straightened the covers on another of the beds she wondered what mischief he could be up to now.

Glancing up at the clock on the wall, she couldn't help but wonder if by the time she'd gotten around to taking her break, the commissary would be the same, quiet, contemplative place where she could gather her thoughts together; or, if a five year old Jack O'Neill could destroy it in those few minutes he would be there.

Maybe they could effectively use him as a weapon against the Goa'uld? He would have them tied up in knots in no time. Perhaps she should mention it to the General in her report?

TBC


	9. Sweet Tooth Daniel?

_Thanks as always for your reviews. I really do appreciate your comments. Here's another chapter for you to hopefully enjoy._

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

_Previously:_

Maybe they could effectively use him as a weapon against the Goa'uld? He would have them tied up in knots in no time. Perhaps she should mention it to the General in her report?

Chapter 9 – Sweet Tooth Daniel?

Sam was first in line at the counter, helping herself to a salad roll and some blue jello along with a can of diet soda. Daniel followed behind her with Jack, trying to tempt him into eating something nutritional first before he was allowed to have the chocolate cake that was sitting in the fridge waiting for them when they were ready. Teal'c, piling up his tray with mountains of food brought up the rear, following Cassie who had grabbed the nearest sandwich while she was watching with renewed interest in the by-play between Daniel and this much younger version of her favourite 'uncle'.

"What do you want Jack? C'mon, you're holding everyone up. Choose! Now!"

Jack frowned as he scanned the tempting array of dishes before him. He liked so many of them and he just couldn't decide what to pick.

"Jack!" Daniel whispered hurriedly. He picked up a plate of macaroni-cheese for himself and looked back down at Jack. The boy could hardly see over the counter, so leaving his tray on the service rail he stooped down and swept Jack up into his arms. "There, now you can see everything what do you prefer eating?"

"What's that?" Jack asked pointing to a plate at the back of the others.

"That? That's Pizza Jack. Do you like Pizza?"

Jack shrugged.

"Don't know. Never heard of it."

Daniel gaped wide-eyed at his friend. Jack was absolutely nuts about Pizza – well, adult Jack was at any rate.

"Well try it. You'll love it, believe me!" Daniel took the plate and added it to his tray, then hurried along to the drinks area. He picked a small carton of milk for Jack and was handed a cup of steaming hot coffee by a smiling man behind the counter.

"Friend of yours Dr. Jackson?" he asked grinning. He smiled at the youngster and then winked. Jack took a step backwards, moving up against Daniel for safety, but he looked up at Daniel, his face full of open curiosity.

"Ah...yeah, you could say that Joe. I'm...looking after him for a while." Daniel glanced down at Jack and smiled but Jack was still puzzling over something the other guy had said.

"Come on, let's go find Sam." He led Jack over to the table that Sam had procured for them and sat down opposite her, with Jack sitting next to him at the end of the table. Daniel placed the plate with the Pizza in front of the child and told him to eat it if he wanted the cake afterwards.

"Daniel?"

"Yes Jack?"

"Are you really a doctor like Janet?"

"What? No! Why?"

"That man called you Dr. Jackson," Jack said, turning back to look over his shoulder at Joe who was serving other personnel now.

"Oh. Well, I am a Doctor, but not a medical one. I'm a Doctor of Archaeology."

"What's that?"

"What's what?" Daniel asked absently.

"Arki... thingy."

"Archaeology?" Daniel couldn't help but be amused.

"Yeah, that."

"I study artefacts found buried under the ground. It tells me what the ancient people were like and how they lived..."

"Oh." Jack's eyes had glazed over at this point and Daniel was reminded that Jack was never one for long-winded explanations. Seems that some things never change. Daniel let the subject drop.

Just as Daniel picked up his coffee and sniffed the rich aroma appreciatively, the tannoy announced that General Hammond wanted to see him. Daniel let out a frustrated groan and placed his cup back onto the saucer with a clatter.

"Now?" he groaned. He was so in need of this coffee. Reluctantly he stood, and seeing that Jack still hadn't started to eat yet, told him to do so before it got cold and because he wanted to see his plate clean by the time he came back. He asked Sam to keep an eye on him and then hurried from the room.

Jack watched him go, feeling a little lost and lonely. He fixed a wary eye on his plate and poked the food with his finger.

"What is that?" he asked sullenly.

"What is what?" Sam asked, and Jack prodded the topping again. "Oh, that's anchovies."

"Ant what?"

"Anchovies. Try some," Sam encouraged. She knew the adult Jack hated fish on his Pizza, but maybe he could be persuaded to like them if he couldn't remember that he didn't.

Jack hesitantly picked one up and screwed his nose up, but Sam urged him to taste it. Moments later she'd wished she hadn't bothered.

Jack popped the smallest piece into his mouth and gagged on it. Holding a hand over his mouth, he didn't know what to do until Sam grabbed a paper napkin and told him to spit it out. He retched and spat the offending morsel out with a cough, pulling a face as he did so while Sam rubbed his back to calm him. Jack grabbed his milk and hastily washed the taste away.

"Eww...yuk!" Jack uttered with disgust, shuddering at the memory of it.

"You okay?" Sam discreetly wrapped up the messy tissue and threw it in the trash bin, wiping her hands with a cleansing tissue.

Jack looked down at his Pizza and pushed the plate away. There was no way he was eating that stuff.

Sam chewed on her bottom lip, knowing she had pushed him too far. Jack obviously had a good reason for not wanting anchovies on his Pizza when he was older. She only hoped that she hadn't changed his future by her stupid insistence.

"Don't you want to try the rest of it?" she asked, hoping that he'd say yes, but Jack shook his head vehemently.

"No way!" he declared forcefully. Nothing would induce him to touch whatever it was they called it.

"Still hungry?" Cassie asked, trying to deflect Sam's guilt which was written plainly across her face. Cassie was well aware of adult Jack's love of Italian food.

Jack nodded just as his stomach rumbled noisily. He eyed Teal'c's tray, piled high with a variety of food, but especially the apple pie sitting to one side.

Cassie smiled and reached out to take the plate and quickly gave it to Jack with a wink.

Sam snorted with amusement as the Jaffa pretended to scold the girl for stealing his food. He was in fact happy for the young O'Neill to have something he could enjoy. After all, he could always get another slice of the pie later.

Jack dove in happily, savouring every mouthful as he listened to the others talking amongst themselves.

"...you'll really have to sweet talk Daniel now Cassie. You know he's not going to like the idea of Jack not eating a proper meal."

"I know Sam. I'll just have to give him something extra sweet..."

Jack stopped eating, listening as Sam and Cassie exchanged views while Teal'c seemed oblivious to anyone around him as he shovelled the vast amount of food into his mouth. Jack had never seen anyone eat so much. It was then that he thought that he had a solution to their problem.

Moments later, Jack sat back in his chair, sated a little and looking forward to that chocolate cake he'd been promised. It was then that Daniel returned and sat back down in his seat. He frowned at the piece of Pizza sitting uneaten on the plate in the middle of the table.

"Jack? Didn't you like the Pizza?" Daniel couldn't understand why the boy hadn't eaten it.

"No. It was yuk!" Jack answered with a pout.

"No? You didn't?" Daniel's eyebrows shot up in shock at this. "Sam? What happened? I know full well that he liked Pizza," he whispered in an aside to his colleague so that Jack couldn't hear.

"It had anchovies on it Daniel." She looked up at her team-mate hoping he would understand.

"Oh...anchovies? Oh! I see what you mean." Daniel gasped at the information and sighed. He hadn't even noticed when he'd picked up the item for Jack.

He caught Jack looking at him with a frown.

"What?" he asked of the boy.

"It made me sick." Jack shuddered again and screwed up his face in disgust; he could still recall just how bad those little bits of fish had tasted.

"I'm sorry Jack, I forgot you hated them," Daniel said apologetically.

"You forgot? You knew I would hate them?"

Daniel cursed himself for the slip. He always thought that Jack was a lot sharper than he'd ever let on and now he knew it wasn't just his imagination.

"I mean. I...I...em..." Daniel dithered, trying to come up with an excuse for his carelessness.

"Never mind!" Jack sighed resignedly, making Sam snigger and hide her mouth behind her hand. He glared up at her before he asked with a definite whine, "Can I have my cake now?"

"Sure. Just let me finish this coffee."

Daniel took a huge mouthful and nearly choked on it. It spluttered from his lips across the table as he coughed. Cassie slapped him on the back a few times.

"Daniel?" Sam asked in concern.

"That coffee is most likely cold Major Carter. Is that not so Daniel Jackson?"

Daniel was still trying to regain his equilibrium, and wiped at his teary eyes.

"It was, yes, but who put the sugar in it?" he demanded.

"What?" Sam was stunned to say the least.

"Sugar. I don't take sugar or any form of sweetener, you know that Sam."

"I didn't..." she began, and then the penny dropped.

All eyes turned towards the youngest person sitting at the table, not more than twelve inches away from Daniel's cup.

TBC


	10. Snips & Snails & Puppy Dog's Tails

_I know I'm repeating myself, but I would like to thank everyone for the reviews they sent my way. Love all of your comments, as always._

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

_Previously:_

All eyes turned towards the youngest person sitting at the table, not more than twelve inches away from Daniel's cup.

Chapter 10 – Snips and Snails, and Puppy Dogs Tails

"What?" grumbled the boy, looking far too innocent.

"Jack? Is there some reason why you put sugar in my coffee?"

Jack squirmed a little in his seat under the scrutiny of these adults.

"It was Sam. And Cassie," he blurted out defensively.

Startled gasps of disbelief came from the two females mentioned.

Daniel knew that Sam would never put sugar in his coffee and neither would Cassie; and Jack did look rather guilty.

"Jack. Don't lie to me," Daniel scolded with a wag of his finger.

"Not lying!" Jack retorted quickly. "They said that you needed something to sweeten you up. I thought..."

"Really?" Daniel couldn't believe his ears. He turned to glare at Sam, who had the grace to redden, and at Cassie who hung her head to hide her sudden blush. Her shoulders heaved and her hand flew up to her face, now hidden by her long hair.

Sam rounded on Daniel.

"Now look what you've done," she accused.

Daniel gaped open mouthed at his friend – wasn't he supposed to be the injured party here?

"Me?" he gasped.

Ignoring Sam's ire, he turned to put his arm round Cassie, and began to apologise. "Look...I...I'm sorry Cass. I..."

Whatever he was going to say ended when Cassie raised her head and wiped her streaming eyes. She was having hysterics; laughing so much she was actually crying.

Then Sam joined in too.

So did Daniel eventually; finally seeing the funny side, but only after he'd decided that if he couldn't beat them he should join them.

Jack thought it was pretty funny as well, though he really had no idea why everyone was giggling so much.

"Jack...you're incorrigible." Daniel scolded with a sigh. He placed his hand on the boy's shoulder before moving it to scrub his fingers affectionately backwards and forwards over the blonde hair.

Jack beamed under all the attention and nodded.

"That's just what Father O'Hara told my Mom," he announced proudly.

"Oh? Why?" Sam was all ears now, the laughter all but gone as she wanted to find out more about her CO's childhood. Not that she was nosy of course...just dead curious.

"Because I made Sister Mary Joseph scream during mass," Jack answered matter-of-factly.

Sam's eye widened with surprise. She hadn't really expected him to come out with something quite like that but after his antics with the sugar, she could well believe it.

Now everyone was listening. The background noise in the commissary had grown noticeably quieter, as all attention was fixed on the boy.

"What did you do to her to make her scream?" Daniel asked, not at all sure he wanted to hear the reason. It couldn't be good whatever Jack had done.

Jack shrugged. He'd already been punished for it, so guessed that these people wouldn't put him through that again. Would they?

"Tommy Stanwyck bet I couldn't put a frog under the Sister's wimple without her noticing."

"Don't tell me! You did, right?" Daniel sighed, knowing Jack better than most folks around the SGC.

"Sure I did," Jack nodded proudly.

"And she didn't notice anything?" Sam was astonished. How could the woman not know?

"Nope. At least, not until Susan Farron tried to pull the thing aside to see for herself."

"So what happened then?"

"That's when the frog fell into Sister Mary Joseph's lap and she screamed. Gee, you shoulda seen her jump!"

"You're an evil little monster Jack, you know that?" Daniel groaned, covering his eyes with his hand. He could just imagine the scene as it played out.

Jack merely beamed back at his audience, pleased with the response he'd received; and the fact that nobody had scolded him again, was a bonus. If anything, Sam and Cassie and several others around him were actually laughing.

"Yeah, but it was so cool," the young rascal replied with mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Daniel dropped his head into his hands and groaned again. If this was anything to go by, then heaven help them!

OoOoOoOoO

Daniel stopped in his tracks, hesitating for a moment, his mind set on what he needed for the briefing. Sam, Teal'c and Jack stopped walking too, waiting for Daniel to explain the hold up.

"Uh... You guys go ahead, Jack and I will join you in a minute."

"We could take him with us Daniel if you just need to get those reports from your lab." Sam stretched out a hand towards the child, but he stepped closer to Daniel, shaking his head, though he did send a big smile her way.

"I guess that means he's with me," Daniel sighed with a glance down at young Jack. Jack beamed back up at him and reached for his hand. "Okay. We won't be long."

Sam and Teal'c carried on up the corridor, with Sam glancing back over her shoulder at Daniel leading Jack in the other direction. She let loose an enormous sigh and turned back to face where she was going.

"It is difficult is it not to equate such a young child with O'Neill?" Teal'c as usual had captured Sam's thoughts even before she'd had time to process them. She swivelled her head round to study her muscular Jaffa team-mate as he walked by her side, hands clasped at his back and his face impassive yet understanding.

Looking up and down the passageway she was thankful it was clear, but then she should have known better because Teal'c would not betray their secret to anyone. The fact that the boy was really Colonel O'Neill wasn't common knowledge. As far as the rest of the SGC was concerned he was just another kid left stranded on another planet rather like Cassie had been.

"Ah, yeah it is Teal'c. You know the Colonel would never speak of his childhood or anything for that matter, but we have this unique opportunity given to us to find out more about him..."

"Yet you do not wish it were so?"

"No I don't," Sam admitted self-consciously. "I can't help wondering if this is real, you know? Like it's all a strange dream and I'm gonna wake up in the infirmary with a massive headache from something that happened on that planet that I can't even remember."

"If this is a dream Major Carter, then I also have been affected by its strange ethereal effect."

"Exactly Teal'c. Daniel's obviously been affected too, but what about the Colonel? Where is 'he' during all of this? I know the DNA results were pretty conclusive, but I can't help wondering..."

"I am uncertain at this point. However, I am sure Daniel Jackson will be able to exact the true reasons," Teal'c assured her.

He sounded so positive that Daniel would be able to work a miracle that Sam could only hope that it would work out right for them, especially for the Colonel. She couldn't bear to think of him being stuck like that for the rest of his life; for a start where would it leave their so called hidden relationship? Little Jack was really cute but she much preferred him as he was; tall, handsome, charismatic and...well, fun to be with.

Sam was so lost in her thoughts that Teal'c had to call her several times before she'd heard her name.

"Is not the de-briefing this way Major Carter?"

"Oh...um...yeah. Sorry Teal'c, I was just thinking about the Colonel." 'So what else is new?' she berated herself. She really shouldn't allow herself to be distracted by him so much. It could land them in big trouble.

Teal'c held the door open for her and she stepped into the briefing room, making her way over to her usual seat, automatically leaving a gap for the Colonel without conscious thought. Teal'c followed, taking a seat opposite her.

No sooner had they seated themselves then General Hammond joined them, looking round for the rest of the team.

"Where are Daniel Jackson and our young guest?"

"They'll be along shortly sir. Daniel just had to pick up some paperwork before he could join us."

General Hammond nodded and took his seat at the head of the table.

"In that case maybe you can fill me in with your side of events Major!"

"Yes sir..."

_Meanwhile back in Daniel's lab..._

There was an ear-splitting crash as something ancient hit the floor and shattered into several pieces.

"Jack!"

TBC


	11. Bribery & Corruption?

_Hi there, I'm really sorry to keep you waiting for this next chapter. Not been too good of late; more problems with my eyes and head, but at last I'm getting this off to you. I've actually caught up with myself so from now on, updates will be slower than usual. I can't get on here as often as I'd like to because I have to limit my time these days._

_I hope you all enjoy this chapter and a big THANK YOU to all of you who have sent in reviews. It's these that keep me going when I feel down because of my illness. _

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

_Previously:_

There was an ear-splitting crash as something ancient hit the floor and shattered into several pieces.

"Jack!"

Chapter 11 – Bribery & Corruption?

"What?"

"What? That was a..." Daniel spluttered, looking down at the scattered remains of what had been an interesting and important archaeological find.

"Gee, it was only a rock Daniel," Jack shrugged, unable to see why Daniel was so upset over a stupid old stone.

"No. It wasn't, Jack. Not to me." How could he explain that it was a significant piece of history that he could study and be able to read and understand it's purpose? Even the adult Jack couldn't comprehend that.

Jack looked at the broken pieces on the floor at his feet. Chewing on his lip, he brought his eyes back up to meet with Daniel's.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break it."

Daniel summoned all his patience and took a deep breath. Of course he knew Jack wouldn't have smashed it on purpose after all. And it wasn't so long ago that he'd reminded Janet that Jack was only a kid; something that he was finding difficult to come to terms with, let alone anyone else.

He made a move to pick up the pieces, but Jack beat him to it, dropping to his knees to help Daniel.

"Jack. No. It's okay..." Daniel cried, but it was too late. Jack jerked his hand away, a few drops of blood dripping from a cut to his finger tip.

"Oww!" Jack complained, but watched fascinated as the red liquid oozed from the cut.

"Let me see that," Daniel demanded, wondering if it was bad enough to warrant Janet's needlework. It didn't look too bad from where he was standing but then he wasn't quite close enough and Jack was being a little reluctant to show him by backing away.

"It's nothing," Jack pouted, sticking his injured finger into his mouth so that Daniel couldn't see it. He sucked it clean and then shoved it under Daniel's nose. "See?"

Daniel had to admit that it looked okay, but then he wondered what alien germs might have been on the artefact in the first place and now that Jack had ingested it, would he really be okay? With a regretful sigh he decided it was best to err on the cautious side and let Janet see it anyway.

"Yes Jack it looks fine, but..."

Jack groaned as if he knew what was coming.

"I don't wanna go back to see Dr. Janet," he whined, backing away once more. "I'm fine!"

"Jack... We have to be sure," Daniel pleaded earnestly. "Please. It won't take long."

"Do I get to have more cake?"

Daniel's mouth gaped and knew at once he was being bribed. Without much of a choice, he nodded reluctantly.

"I guess. But... on one condition Jack!"

"What's that?" Jack asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.

"Absolutely no more touching anything in my lab or Sam's. Okay?"

It was a tall order. Jack couldn't help his curiosity and he loved to touch things but if Daniel had promised him more cake, then he guessed he would be okay with that.

"Jack? Will you promise me?" Daniel was waiting for his answer.

"Okay!" Jack grouched. "I promise. Now, can we get this over with? I'm hungry!"

"Yeah, but you're gonna have to wait until the briefing is over."

OoOoOoOoO

Janet closed her eyes and prayed for patience when she saw who it was entering her infirmary. 'What had happened now?' she wondered.

Daniel looked a little sheepish as he propelled Jack forward, and Janet knew instantly that whatever had gone wrong, Daniel was blaming himself for this second visit so soon after the first.

"Daniel? Jack?" she greeted them reservedly.

"Ah...um...Janet," Daniel was hesitant at first, but then spat out the explanation all in one go. "Ah...Jack cut his finger on one of my relics and I said it might be best if you checked him out. I have no idea if there was anything on there that shouldn't be."

Janet was used to Daniel's way of speaking when he was nervous so she could digest the information easily then nod, knowing to what he was referring.

"Okay then young man, hop onto this bed and I'll take a look and get a blood sample off to the lab."

Jack sighed wearily but climbed onto the bed and sat on the edge, swinging his legs over the side. He stuck his finger out for Janet to look at.

"It's only a little cut," Jack exclaimed, glancing meaningfully up at Daniel.

"Did you wash it already Daniel?" Janet asked, noting that the wound looked clean.

"That would be a 'no'. Jack sucked on it before I had chance to take a look at it."

Janet frowned up at Daniel and then scowled across at Jack who reddened and dropped his gaze at the unspoken rebuke. His Mom was forever telling him off for the same thing whenever he got hurt. It hadn't been a problem before now, so why were they making such a fuss?

She couldn't see anything inside the wound, but playing on the safe side, gave him a shot of antibiotic, wiped it with a sterile swab and covered the now clean cut with a dressing.

"There," Janet sighed thankfully, hoping that was all there was to it. "Now let's take a sample of blood and you can go on your way."

Jack fidgeted a little while she took a sample of his blood for analysis and once that was done she sent them both off to the briefing room where they were expected, much to Jack's delight and no so. He had been dreading the thought of Janet making him stay in bed once again, but he was hungry and wanted that extra piece of cake Daniel had promised him.

OoOoOoOoO

"Glad you could make it Dr. Jackson."

Daniel could tell from the General's tone that he was more than a little irked at being kept waiting.

"I'm sorry General...er...Jack had a little mishap in the lab so we had to call into the infirmary on the way."

"Is he okay?" Hammond enquired, earning a scowl from the boy in question.

Sam left her seat to check on Jack for herself. She led him up to the table and helped him take the seat next to hers.

"What happened Daniel?" she asked, her voice full of concern as Jack showed her his 'boo-boo'.

"Uh...well, Jack managed to break one of the artefacts that was sitting on my desk and cut his finger."

"Did it need stitching?" Sam asked, agape at the thought of little Jack having Janet sew his finger back together. She wasn't squeamish really; she'd seen hundreds of wounds that needed stitching, including the Colonel's injuries as well, but the thought of little Jack having to go through that was bringing out all sorts of weird feelings inside her.

"No. No. Nothing like that," Daniel quickly explained, taking his own seat next to Teal'c after grabbing a cup of coffee. "He...um...he decided to suck it clean before I could wash the blood away. I just thought Janet should check him out in case the item was contaminated or something."

General Hammond wasn't sure if he should smile or not. Knowing the older Jack O'Neill as he did, he could hardly blame the boy for being so inquisitive like his adult self. Though having a young child running around the base could prove dangerous not only for the boy but for all of them, especially if he couldn't stop touching things he shouldn't. They were going to have to look into ways of keeping him out of trouble if they all wanted to survive. Who knew what else he would lay his sticky fingers on? A Naquadah reactor? God forbid!

In the meantime Daniel had passed Jack some paper and coloured pencils to occupy him whilst they discussed his future. He had yet to tackle the task of deciphering the writings on the altar inside the temple. The sooner he could do that, the sooner they would be able to get the adult Jack back. Maybe!

General Hammond opened the de-briefing and after Sam had given the report of her findings, it was Daniel's turn to explain the complicated story of how Jack got 'shrunk'.

"Well, General it was like this. Jack..." Daniel droned on and on.

Jack was happy at first to draw pictures but soon grew bored with that, and Daniel was still talking, oy. He felt his eyes closing, and for a while fought against his heavy eyelids.

"...so you see General I need to get on with the translations so that we can take Jack back to the planet and put this right!"

"Very well Dr. Jackson. I'm giving you all some time off to look after Jack away from the mountain, seeing as he has taken to you so well. There's no sense in making him unhappy by placing him with anyone outside for now. You have one month to come up with the translation, before we have to consider whatever options there are available to us."

"Yes sir." Daniel nodded in agreement. He would be happier if Jack was away from this place. He could just as easily work from home as he could here in the lab. All his notes could be copied and sent to him via a secure e-mail account either by Sam or Teal'c.

"I think it might be best if you took him back to his own house for the time being where he might feel more secure. I'll have a couple of guards posted around the grounds to keep him safe." He didn't think he needed to add his thoughts that it would also keep Jack from escaping too. "You will concentrate on the translations while Major Carter, and Teal'c..."

Hammond startled after turning towards the other members of the team to issue their new temporary orders, but had stopped midstream when he saw Jack was sound asleep with his thumb firmly wedged in his mouth. He actually looked quite innocent, though the General knew better than that. There was nothing new in the fact that Jack had gone to sleep; adult Jack could fall asleep anywhere, and yes, including a briefing, yet still manage to be alert to what was going on around him.

It was just where he had fallen asleep that had completely thrown him.

The youngster was contentedly curled up on Samantha Carter's lap.

TBC


	12. Anger Management

_Hi, thanks to everyone who sent in reviews and also the best wishes for my health. I really do appreciate your concern and your support. Thank you! _

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

_Previously:_

The youngster was contentedly curled up on Samantha Carter's lap.

Chapter 12 – Anger Management?

Daniel had gathered as much information together as he could; taking only the things he would need during their confinement at home with Jack. Sam had taken the boy's measurements and had gone shopping with Janet and Cassie.

Teal'c had been charged with keeping Jack out of trouble. He had ordered Jack to sit on one of the chairs and then stood sentinel over him, daring him to move – much to Jack's displeasure.

Jack still treated the huge Jaffa warrior with something like reserve, even though he knew that Teal'c would not harm him. It was just that he was so big and strong and didn't smile much and when he did, well... it might have been better if he hadn't done so. All in all, the guy was just a bit scary.

Having been told by the big guy to stay put, he wasn't going to risk his health by trying to escape. Besides which Daniel would probably tear him off a strip too if he so much as moved. So he sat there, in mute defiance, arms folded across his chest and wearing a scowl on his normally angelic face.

He could see Daniel rushing around in the background though he had no idea why he was getting all those papers and cramming them into an already overstuffed briefcase. There were piles of books too. Dusty old things that looked as if they weighed a ton. That was okay just so long as Daniel didn't expect him to carry any of them.

They were going off to live in a house somewhere, where he was supposed to be safe but Jack wasn't really sure what that was supposed to mean. He'd been woken up from a wonderful dream of fighting the baddies, in which he was winning, only to be faced with several peculiar looks, especially from General Hammond. Gee, anybody would think it was a crime to fall asleep in Sam's lap by the way he'd reacted. He was still tired and Daniel seemed to have forgotten all about that extra piece of cake he'd promised him, so now he felt grumpy too.

He slipped from the chair and glared up at Teal'c whose scowl deepened. He wasn't going to be intimidated by the tall guy anymore. His own scowl grew darker as Teal'c made a move to restrain him.

"What?" Jack challenged, feeling miffed. Couldn't he do anything?

"You were requested to remain in your seat young O'Neill," Teal'c rumbled in that deep voice of his.

"You want me to pee in my pants?" Jack queried, looking up, eye to eye in defiance, causing Teal'c to raise one eyebrow in censure.

"Indeed not. I shall accompany you to the men's room down the hallway," Teal'c replied smoothly, completely unruffled by Jack's obvious dare.

Jack stood with his hands on his hips, pouting in frustration.

"I know where the bathroom is. I don't need you to hold my hand."

"Nevertheless, I shall escort you there."

Jack blew out a frustrated breath and flapped his hands against his thighs in annoyance.

"Okay. Fine!" He turned on his heel and headed for the door not wanting to see if Teal'c was following or not. He knew he would be, of course, but he tried his best to ignore the 'jolly giant' as he called the big guy in his mind. He wished Sam would hurry up with whatever she was doing. He'd much rather spend time with her. She'd felt warm and comfortable just like his Mom had.

Thinking of his Mom and comfort suddenly made his throat hurt and then his eyes burned and before he'd reached the bathroom he'd found himself holding back the tears. He tried to hide it from Teal'c, keeping his head down, and that's when it came to him that he really missed his Mom and Dad and that was why he was feeling miserable and angry and upset because it hurt. They hadn't come to see him, and nobody, including Daniel, had said that he could go see them. Where were they? Didn't they love him any more?

He rubbed his eyes, his lip quivered and he sniffed back the mucus in his nose, quickly disappearing into the cubicle before the jolly giant could call him a baby for crying.

He heard him talking to someone outside but he was too upset to take any real notice of what it was about. He relieved himself, flushed the toilet and then sat on the lid with his chin in his hands whilst trying to control his feelings.

A few moments later he heard the door open and footsteps coming towards the cubicle he was hiding in.

"Jack?"

It was Daniel. Jack wanted to run to him and be hugged but hard as it was to believe it, Daniel was keeping him away from his parents too.

Daniel's only response to his call was more sniffing from the other side of the stall door.

"What is it Jack? What's wrong? Won't you tell me? I thought I was your friend," he asked the youngster.

"Go 'way," Jack ordered with a choked sob.

Daniel exchanged looks with Teal'c who looked almost as upset as Jack was to Daniel's eyes. He felt bad enough as it was. Something had obviously upset the boy but he seemed loath to discuss it, even with him.

"Teal'c, could you go see if Sam's back yet. I think she may be able to get to the root of the problem. He's been in a bad mood ever since he was woken up from sleeping on her lap during the debriefing."

Teal'c turned the thought over in his mind and came to the same conclusion.

"It would appear so. I shall make enquiries as to Major Carter's whereabouts."

"Thanks Teal'c."

Daniel watched the Jaffa leave and turned his attention back to the child. Jack was still crying and it sounded like it was wracking his body with deep sobs.

"Jack. Please, won't you come out so we can talk about what's wrong?"

"No!"

"Why not?" Daniel was troubled by the terse reaction.

"'Cause you're just like the others."

Daniel's head reeled with the accusation, but that still didn't mean he understood what it meant.

"What? Just like what others? Why?"

"You lied!"

"I did? When? What about Jack? I wouldn't lie to you, you're my friend."

The snivelling had calmed, but was now replaced with what appeared to be unaccountable anger and Daniel still didn't have a clue as to what Jack was referring to.

"You did!"

"Okay. Look Jack, please tell me what I lied about, because I really don't understand what's upsetting you so much."

"No! Nonononono!" Jack shouted, kicking the door with every syllable to vent his anger and to show Daniel he meant every word of it.

Daniel despaired of ever getting anything sensible out of Jack in his present state and was wondering what to do for the best. Should he just get Siler to open the door with his pass key and grab the boy or should he let Teal'c barge in and hope to placate the General and Siler for any damage done in the process. He wrapped his arms around his chest and then scratched his head in concern. The main door opened suddenly, startling him, and he was happy to see Sam enter and Teal'c stand sentinel just inside the door to keep others from entering whilst they endeavoured to coax the boy out of the cubicle.

"Oh Sam. Am I glad to see you. He's upset over something but he won't come out and he won't tell me what's bothering him. Maybe you can get him to open up; all I'm getting is a negative response."

Sam looked doubtful and worried her lip with her teeth, but she'd give it a go. Getting as close to the stall as she could, she tapped gently on the door.

"Jack? It's me, Sam. Are you gonna stay in there all day or are you gonna come out and see what I've bought for you?" she called softly trying to sweet-talk him into opening the door and coming out, even if he said nothing about why he was locked in there in the first place.

"Is Daniel still out there with Teal'c?" Jack's voice was quiet now which gave her hope that he might comply for her.

"They are. Why?" she asked looking over her shoulder at her two team-mates in confusion.

"Tell 'em to go 'way!"

Daniel shrugged and waved his hands uselessly. Okay. He motioned for Teal'c to exit the room and followed, shutting the door behind them.

"Okay, they're gone sweetie. Are you gonna tell me what's wrong?" Sam encouraged.

Her hopes soared when she heard the lock on the door drawn back and she got her first glimpse of the forlorn figure of Jack who stood there looking lost and miserable. His face was red and blotchy with tear stains over his cheeks; his lips were curled downwards highlighting his wretchedness and she noticed the occasional quiver still present. His breathing was hitched and every now and then he hiccupped with a dry sob. Her heart went out to him and her mothering instincts took over without conscious thought.

"Oh Jack. C'mere honey." She opened her arms and he dived into the welcome embrace as fresh sobs wracked through him. She sat down on the floor and held him tight against her, brushing her fingers through his hair and kissing his head as he sought comfort from the storm of emotions running through him.

They stayed like that for some time, with Sam rocking him gently in her lap and whispering reassurances in his ear. Jack had gradually quietened and had now actually fallen asleep, but she was loath to move and disturb him. He still hadn't said a word about why he was so distraught, but she figured it could wait; his need for comfort was obviously far greater than the reasons for now, and she was happy to be there for him. It also pleased her more than she could admit that Jack had turned to her for this rather than Daniel or anyone else. Why that was she had no idea, but it made her feel good.

Of course there was the irony that she had always longed to hold Jack in her arms. She'd often dreamed of doing so, but the reality of it was somewhat different than what she'd hoped for. Still it gave her an insight into the real Jack. The one he'd always been careful not to allow to show through his military bravado. Was the adult Jack a big softie in real life? Would he still love to cuddle up so snugly as an adult? She kinda hoped he would, it would make all her dreams that much sweeter.

Daniel quietly opened the door a little when he could no longer hear any sounds coming from the other side. He poked his head in and smiled at the scene before him. He always figured those two belonged together, and it appeared even in his youth Jack seemed totally comfortable with Sam.

Another head poked round him and released an almost silent gasp, then pulled away, making Daniel close the door for privacy. Janet had the biggest smile on her face that Daniel had ever seen.

For once they were in total agreement. With a silent knowing nod, Daniel disappeared for a moment and then returned. Janet opened the door a little and allowed Daniel limited access.

A flash later and both of them escaped grinning. Adult Jack would never believe this without proof. Daniel was merely providing the evidence; and even Teal'c's eyes were filled with amusement.

TBC


	13. BathTime Fun

_Hey! Thanks as always to everyone who took the time to send in a review. I thought I'd add a little fun to the story during this chapter. Hope you enjoy it._

**WARNING: **Naked Jack and some rather naughty thoughts from Sam!

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

_Previously:_

A flash later and both of them escaped grinning. Adult Jack would never believe this without proof. Daniel was merely providing the evidence; and even Teal'c's eyes were filled with amusement.

Chapter 13 – Bath-Time Fun.

Wrapped up tightly in Sam's arms, Jack never even stirred when Sam almost leapt into the air, cursing softly at Daniel's sneaky move. She should have known of course that they – Janet had to be in on it too – would take pictures of Jack and her together. Smiling down at the small boy she couldn't help but love the idea of having a memento of this occasion if perhaps Daniel would give her a copy to keep. Maybe it would be the only photo she'd ever have of him snuggling into her arms. She sighed and went off into a dream world where she and Jack were actually together.

Time passed by and Sam realised that she was going to have to move soon because her butt was numb from sitting on the floor in one position for too long. Jack was still asleep which made her wonder if he was okay. Moving her hand slowly, she brought it up to his brow, sweeping the still sweat dampened hair from his forehead. He felt a little warm, but that was probably because he'd spent a lot of energy and time crying his heart out. She looked up guiltily when the door opened, but sighed in relief when it was only Teal'c who entered quietly.

"Hey Teal'c," she whispered with a smile, her eyes looking up to meet with his dark, sombre face. If she didn't know him better, she'd probably have thought he was always gloomy but it just wasn't so; he just kept his demeanour well hidden.

"Major Carter," he said, dipping his head in greeting as was his usual habit. "Daniel Jackson has completed gathering his notes and has requested that I escort you and young O'Neill to the surface. I will take him from you for I believe he will be too heavy for you to carry after holding him for so long."

Sam didn't really want to let go, but she also knew Teal'c spoke out of concern for her as well as Jack. The last thing she wanted to do was to drop him and cause him any harm. Reluctantly with a nod she allowed her team-mate to lift him from her lap.

"Okay Teal'c. Careful. I really don't want to wake him up yet. It might start him off crying again."

Contrary to popular belief of his strength and despite the size of the man, Teal'c was an extremely gentle person too and had plucked Jack up into his arms with barely a movement or a sigh from their sleeping charge.

Sam stood slowly working out the kinks in her body with an assortment of stretches accompanied by an odd groan until she was sure she wouldn't limp or stumble out of the men's room looking as if she'd been up to no good in there. It would have looked very compromising had her CO been his normal self. But, she sniggered with amusement, if he had, then she wouldn't have been in there in the first place!

General Hammond met them at the elevator and stepped into the car with them as it rose towards the surface.

"Major Carter, Teal'c. How's our boy?"

"He fell asleep still crying sir," Sam replied, unable to take her eyes off the tear stained face beside her in Teal'c's capable arms. He had sobbed so much and the weight of his misery tore at her own heart strings once more. She blinked back the threatening emotions and managed to look them away.

"Did you discover what this was all about Major?"

"Ah. No sir. Not much. He was so upset over something. I think he believed that Daniel and everyone had lied to him, but I couldn't be certain that was all. There must have been something else bothering him."

"Well, this is what I need you to do. Find out what's eating at him, while Dr. Jackson works on that translation. We need to get Colonel O'Neill back as soon as possible. I've already had some enquiries from Colonel Simmons into this incident. He said he'd heard that Colonel O'Neill had been changed into a child."

"How did he find out about this sir? It's only been a couple of days." Sam was shocked by the whole idea of the NID getting their hands on the information. What would they do if they could prove that Colonel O'Neill was that child? Nobody, apart from SG-1, Sergeant Davis, Janet and Cassie, knew what was going on here. As far as the rest of the base was concerned, Colonel O'Neill was Off-world visiting Edora and the child was someone they had found all alone on the planet on their latest mission, just like Cassie had been discovered.

"I know I don't have to tell you the problems we could be facing if 'Jack' fell into the wrong hands Major, so I'm relying on you and your team to keep the boy safe."

"Yes sir. That goes without saying. We'd guard him with our lives General," Sam assured the older man.

"Well let's hope it doesn't come to that Major. I'll be sending a surveillance team in to watch the house. Do what you have to people. God speed." Hammond nodded to them as the car stopped on the eleventh floor.

They changed elevators under Hammond's watchful eye, and then he sighed unhappily as he took the car back down to his office. He needed to talk to the President, hoping that his CIC would back them in this should any problems arise, as he knew there would be seeing as the NID were involved.

OoOoOoOoOoO

The drive to Jack's house had been uneventful and although Jack had stirred and opened his eyes, he'd remained silent and brooding, watching them with that familiar frown of curiosity.

Daniel pulled up onto the drive and turned the engine off with a sigh of relief. Now perhaps they could get on with what really mattered.

Teal'c and Daniel unloaded the trunk of all the reference books and notes and files that he needed, as well as his laptop and Sam's too. Then there were kitbags with their personal items, clothes and some videos from Teal'c's growing collection for them to watch while Daniel worked.

Sam was left to get Jack into the house. He watched her with interest as she undid the straps of the child seat they had borrowed and helped him from the car. He trotted by her side looking up at her and at their joined hands until they reached the front door. Sam slid her key into the lock and opened the wide wooden door, pushing Jack in gently from behind. He glared up at her, but then smiled as she bent down face to face with him so that he could look straight into those blue eyes. She tapped her finger lightly on the end of his nose playfully.

"Hey!" she said softly; a smile lighting her face and eyes. He smiled back warmly. "How're you doing sweetie?" Her hand gently brushed at a stray strand of hair that had fallen over his brow. "I've gotten some nice new clothes here that Doctor Janet and I picked out earlier, so how about we go get the tub ready for your bath and take a look afterwards? You can pick out what you want to wear."

"You're gonna give me a bath?" Jack's eyebrows rose to new heights in surprise.

"Yeah," she said, giving him a hug. "You got all kinda sweaty back there in the men's room when you were crying, so a nice warm bath will make you feel better." She stood and grabbed his hand, leading him down the hallway to where the bathroom was. She sat him on the closed toilet seat while she rinsed the bath out and then ran the water, making sure that it wasn't too hot or too deep for him.

Jack gulped a little when she turned round and lifted him down to stand on the floor. Without preamble she pulled up the T-shirt over his head and then pulled his shoes and socks from his feet, after which she started to unbutton his jeans. Jack leapt back with a yelp, hanging onto his dignity.

"Uh. I can bath myself!" he growled, eyeing Sam up with a frown.

"Oh come on Jack," she giggled. "It's not like I haven't seen you... I mean, I've bathed my nephew before now. I do know what little boys look like." Sam grinned, her hands on her hips as she looked down at Jack who for some reason appeared embarrassed by the idea of her washing him.

'Enough of this,' she thought determinedly, stepping forward.

"Jack O'Neill!" she put on her best Major voice. "Drop those pants, now!"

Jack bit his lip and shrugged. He let go of his pants and spread his arms allowing Sam to remove said garment as well as his underwear.

Sam felt herself flush with heat at the immoral thoughts suddenly crowding into her mind. The idea of a very naked Jack O'Neill standing before her was another one of those fantasies of hers. She averted her eyes as best she could, pushing those thoughts away quickly. 'That was just so wrong – he's only four, for crying out loud!' she berated herself.

"There now that didn't hurt did it?" she sighed all business like, lifting him into the bath tub and hoping that her face wasn't as bright red as she imagined it to be.

"You're all red Sam."

'Oy!' Sam thought. 'Out of the mouth of babes. There goes that hope!'

"It's hot in here," she replied trying to sound unaffected by his open question. "It's all this steam from the hot water,"

"Is it?" he asked studying her closely.

Sam could feel the blush deepen, burning her cheeks hotter.

Once in the tub, Jack sat down in the warm water with a sigh and waited for Sam to begin. He watched, fascinated as she lathered up the sponge and then swirling the soapy suds all over him. First lifting one of his arms and then the other. She scrubbed it over his back and chest.

He let her wash his hair, leaving it all spiky and wasn't at all bothered by the water or by the shampoo running into his face. He lay down in the water to rinse the foam from his hair and the top half of his body. It felt good to be clean again.

Sam lathered up the sponge again and ordered him to stand. The sponge hovered a few inches from his groin as Sam stopped and gulped. She was about to wash – touch - a certain part of 'his' body. She chewed on her bottom lip, uncertain quite how to...proceed.

A snort of amusement made her look up. Jack was watching her. His dark eyes filled with laughter. An eyebrow quirked.

"What's wrong?" he asked, entirely too innocent.

"Em..." she stuttered. "Em...nothing!"

Jack looked down at himself, and then at the sponge. His hands moved to his hips with a roll of his eyes.

"Thought you said you'd seen little boys before?"

"Er...I have. It's just..." Sam trailed off. How the hell could she be doing this? Perhaps...? Yeah. That was it. "Um...I'll just go and get..."

Sam pushed herself up from her knees and was about to flee the room when his voice stopped her; her hand hovering on the door knob.

"Don't you dare Carter!"

She gasped and spun round so quickly she almost lost her balance, having to grab hold of the towel rail to steady herself.

"Sir?"

Jack grinned up at her shocked face while there was an eerily smug glint in his eyes.

"I can accept the rumours going round the grape vine at the SGC that there may be something going on between the two of us, but I am so not adding fuel to the fire that there might be something between Daniel and myself, for cryin' out loud! I was actually quite enjoying you washing me, but Daniel is so not touching my...body!"

Sam squeaked in mortification that she had actually been washing her CO thinking that it was little Jack. Her hand flew to her mouth, holding in her consternation. But, one look at his glittering eyes and she knew he'd been leading her down the garden path for a while. 'Ooohhh! That dirty low down rotten little... Little? Oh yes!' she suddenly grinned.

"How long Colonel?" she asked dangerously, narrowing her eyes as she took a step towards him; revenge on her mind.

Now it was Jack's turn to gulp. He'd conveniently forgotten that she was so much bigger and stronger than he was right now. 'Ooops! Tactical error on his part. Where had his brain gone begging?'

"Em...just for a little while. Not long really. Er...just since I woke up. Um...Carter, shouldn't you go and let me finish washing? The water's getting cold," he whined, growing concerned about what she may do to him. He knew she wouldn't actually hurt him, but...

Jack stepped back, slipping on the bottom of the tub causing his feet to slide out from under him. He ended up getting dunked and came up splashing and spitting soapy water from his mouth. He jumped up again wiping his face intent on seeing what she was going to do.

"Carter!" he warned as she hovered over him, water still dripping off him from head to knees at the waterline.

She smiled down at him looking far too pleased with herself. Silently reaching out her hand she pulled the plug then her fingers edged towards the faucet. Jack's eyes followed her planned movements and couldn't help but feel worried.

He had his answer a moment later when he felt the cold spray of the shower hit him. He shrieked under the onslaught of icy water and watched her leave. His teeth chattered as he shivered, standing there spluttering under the veil of water with his startled eyes blinking in shock.

"Enjoy your shower...sir!" she gloated, shutting the door behind her.

TBC


	14. Restitution

_Hi, Thanks to all of you who sent in reviews; you know how much I really appreciate them. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, and I hope that you will like this one too. _

_With special thanks to Michele - hope you feel better soon!_

**Happy Thanksgiving to all!**

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

_Previously:_

"Enjoy your shower...sir!" she gloated, shutting the door behind her.

Chapter 14 – Restitution

Sam leant back against the door trembling, aghast at what she'd done. Okay, so her CO was back but that didn't excuse him from keeping his true identity from her. She felt justified in her reactions, but... that still didn't excuse her from acting like a child and exacting revenge against his audacity by turning on the cold spray and leaving him there, however amusing it was at the time.

She could hear his muffled curses on the other side of the door now as he... his four year old body, fought against the rush of icy water trying to turn the shower off. 'Oh God!' She moaned, gazing up at the ceiling to blink away the rapidly gathering moisture burning the back of her eyes. 'He's gonna kill me for sure!'

"Sam?" Daniel hurried towards her looking alarmed. "What's up? You look...?"

"God Daniel, I just tried to drown him!" she gasped. He'll have me up for a court-martial for sure!"

Daniel could see she was trying to keep her emotions in check, but what on earth was going on?

"What? Why?" Daniel queried still puzzled. "He can't do that Sam, he's just a little kid..." Daniel tried to reassure her, but Sam cut him off quickly.

"No! No he's not Daniel. That's Colonel O'Neill in there," she stated emphatically.

"What? Adult Jack?" Daniel gaped wide eyed. "So that was what all the yelling was about?"

Sam nodded and a tear broke free to roll down her cheek.

"I was..." she took a deep breath and folded her arms across her chest to stop from shaking. "...I was bathing him Daniel, and he was the Colonel the whole time but he didn't let on!"

Daniel's lips quirked with the beginnings of a grin, but Sam glared daggers at him with hurt clearly showing in her eyes, so he turned it into a shrug.

"It's not funny Daniel!" she snarled wanting to wipe that sly smile from his face. "I was just about to..." she couldn't hold back the tears any longer and batted them away angrily. "...I almost 'touched' him. I thought perhaps it might be better if you or Teal'c... you know. That's when he divulged the fact that he was back to being Colonel O'Neill."

"But that still doesn't explain all the yelling," Daniel prompted. He could just imagine Jack thinking it was highly amusing, but he could also see why Sam was so upset, given their positions within the military. Jack really shouldn't have done that to her – but still, he would have loved to have seen her face at that point in time.

"He'll report me. I just know it."

"No he won't Sam," Daniel soothed, rubbing a hand up and down her arm. "He's at fault here if anyone is to be blamed."

"No Daniel. I...I could live with that. It's what I did afterwards that's the problem."

"What?" Daniel's eyebrows shot up. "What did you do Sam?" demanded Daniel with growing concern.

"I pulled the plug and then turned on the shower, telling him to enjoy it."

"And this is bad?" He was waiting for the rest, because there had to be more to it than Sam was saying here.

"I... oh god Daniel." She shook with terror at the knowledge of what she had done sank further into her brain. "The water was cold Daniel. Icy cold."

"Ah!" Daniel grimaced with understanding. "Yeah, I can see why you're worried." He sighed.

Daniel took Sam into his arms and led her down the hallway and into the kitchen. "Grab yourself a cup of coffee and make some for Jack. I think he'll be needing something warm."

"Janet would kill me if I gave a four year old coffee Daniel!"

"You really wanna try and give him hot chocolate or milk?" he stated wryly. "I don't somehow think that will go down well, do you? Especially after his...shower."

Sam gulped, hesitating.

"Sam, Janet's a friend and, okay, she's the doctor, but what would you rather do? Upset her or face a court-martial from Jack? Not that I think he would ever dream of going that far."

"You're right. I'll put the coffee on, but I won't make it so strong."

Daniel nodded and turned to leave when Sam called out after him, stopping him in his tracks.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go do a little damage control Sam. Don't worry. He won't be able to report you because he doesn't have a leg to stand on." He winked at her and left her to watch over the coffee pot as it heated up the dark brew.

OoOoOoOoO

Daniel pushed right into the bathroom without knocking, coming to a halt to watch Jack trying to dry himself off, and then shut the door behind him.

Jack's teeth were still chattering from the cold and when he saw Daniel he growled, looking grumpy and tried to ignore him at first, annoyed that Daniel was just standing there in silence.

"Come to gloat?" Jack snarled with a deep shiver.

The anger and frustration coming from a four year old body just sounded so wrong to Daniel's ears. He stood there with his arms folded, pondering how to approach Jack when he was in this black mood. He'd never been afraid of his friend, even standing up for those less able to do so if he thought they were right. It wouldn't be the first time and surely not the last. The best plan of attack as Jack had drilled into him was to get in the first shot; so he would.

"What on earth were you thinking Jack?" he could sound just as aggravated as Jack could.

"I told her I could wash myself, but she insisted," Jack replied defensively.

"You should have said something before it got that far!" Daniel ranted thrusting his hands in the air in frustration.

"I wasn't sure what was happening. Not at first. I thought I was in some weird and wacky dream or something."

The fight went right out of Daniel as he heard the regret in Jack's soft voice. He stepped forward to wrap a warm towel round his shivering friend's young shoulders.

"I know it must be hard for you being in the body of a small child Jack, but you gave Sam a real fright."

"Fright? Christ, Daniel, how would you feel if someone twice your size stormed towards you like she did? Talk about a woman scorned...jeez!"

"She was justifiably furious with you. What did you expect?" Daniel shot back, then calmed when Jack's shoulders slumped even further. "She also thinks you're gonna have her up for a court-martial for what she did to you."

Jack stopped drying his legs and looked up from where he was sitting on the floor in shock.

"What? I'll admit that what I did was wrong, and she had every right to be mad at me, but I would never put her on report. Never! Surely you all know me better than that?"

"Jack, we've been through a lot of strange things together as a team, but this..." he waved a hand towards Jack who was still looking up at him. "...this is so different to anything we've ever encountered before. Of course we're gonna make mistakes; of course our team interactions have had to make allowances, but you could at least trust us to try and do our best. We are trying..." Daniel could see Jack shiver again. "Look, let's get you some warm clothes and talk about this in a while. Sam's making some hot coffee and we could order a take-out."

Jack nodded mutely and finished drying off. Daniel offered him a clean towel and they made their way to the bedroom where Sam had laid out some of their recent purchases for Jack to choose his own attire. He picked up some underwear, glad to find that it was plain white and not covered in cars or such anything. He donned a pair of warm sweats and a sweatshirt, socks and sneakers and then followed Daniel down the hall to the sitting room where the others were waiting.

"O'Neill," Teal'c dipped his head in greeting and Jack merely gave a quick half smile and a nod in return, but his eyes were on Sam.

"Ah Teal'c," Daniel called. "would you help me with these books for a minute?"

Teal'c stood and bowed to his friends before he left them to talk, having been appraised by Sam while they waited for the two men to join them.

Jack was now alone with Sam and he wasn't quite sure how to apologise to her for being an ass. Being only so high was making it more difficult than it should. But then, if he was his normal size they wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place. He took a deep breath to steady himself then walked up to where Sam was sitting looking extremely nervous, unable to look him in the eye.

"Carter," he began, and then paused for a moment before continuing. "I need to apologise to you for putting you into that situation. I'm sorry."

Sam just sat there trying to control her emotions. She felt angry, hurt and betrayed, and yet looking at him standing there, for all that he looked like a small child, she couldn't help thinking he looked so small and vulnerable and...cute, and she loved him despite his disregard for her sensibilities just now.

"Crap!" he swore when he could see that she really wasn't buying it. "Carter...I...I just wasn't sure what was happening. The last thing I remembered was waking up in the infirmary and thinking the whole child thing had been a bad dream. Then next I woke up in a kiddie's car seat and was led by the hand into 'my' house. I was confused as hell!" he cried out in frustration, flapping his arms against his sides. He moved over to gaze out of the window to watch the snow falling. He just hated it when crazy things happened to his team, and considerably more so when it concerned him.

"I thought I was in one of those 'alternate' universe things. I wasn't sure about anything. I wasn't even sure if you were...you!"

This had obviously grabbed Sam's attention, because she looked stunned. She opened her mouth to say something but he waved her off, continuing his explanation.

"I wasn't sure until I saw you..." he coughed, looking decidedly embarrassed. "...you hesitated. That's when I knew for sure it was all for real. I'm sorry Carter. Really."

Sam cleared her throat and watched him turn back to the window looking quite lost and forlorn.

"I'm sorry too sir." She felt the shame of her actions more keenly now. "I thought... Well, I believed you were...toying with me."

"I was," he confessed, not turning round. He didn't want to see how much his actions had upset her. "Not like that though. I just had to know for sure."

"I'm sorry I got angry Colonel. If you'd only said that you were unsure of things then I would never have dreamed of turning the cold water on you."

He gave a snort of amusement.

"I deserved that Carter. You did nothing wrong, and I would never report you for doing something that was entirely my fault."

"Yes you did...sir! Deserve it I mean. And thank you."

He turned round quickly in time to see her cover her mouth but not before he'd seen the grin. He smiled in response.

"So, we're okay then?" he asked with a trace of doubt, his head tilted to one side.

"Yes sir. We're okay."

"Good. That's good." He rubbed his hands together in satisfaction and because they were still cold too. "So...where's my coffee?"

TBC


	15. Explanations

_Hi everyone, here's another chapter for you to enjoy. Thanks as always to those of you who sent in a review. Love you guys! Does wonders to my soul and helps to get me writing again._

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

_Previously:_

"Good. That's good." He rubbed his hands together in satisfaction and because they were still cold too. "So...where's my coffee?"

Chapter 15 – Explanations

"I'll get it for you sir, it's on the counter top," she called before he disappeared into the kitchen.

"I can manage!" he replied and waved her away.

He was gone for a few minutes and Sam decided that perhaps she really should check up on him. When she entered the kitchen, Jack was trying to drag a chair over to the corner where the coffee pot was bubbling away gently, in order to reach his coffee.

"I really should get that for you sir," Sam said, as she took hold of a mug and poured a little into it then added some cold milk to cool it down. Thwarted and irked by his lack of size, Jack could only watch as she busied herself and tried to hide her smile.

"What?" he frowned, knowing full well what had amused her. Damn, he'd never felt so hopelessly inadequate as he did now; stuck in this kid's body, even if it was his own.

"Uh...Sorry sir" she blushed under his steadfast gaze. She realised that it must have been doubly difficult for him to know that she would have to do things for him that he would have taken for granted before being down-sized. "Do you want this in front of the TV Colonel?"

Jack sighed in defeat; he was already beginning to feel more than useless and knew without a doubt why she had avoided his question. He so hated this whole damn mess. He didn't bother with a reply either; he merely turned on his heel and went back down the hall to the sitting room.

Sam followed with the mug, placing it onto the coffee table while Jack stared at the sofa for long moments. He sucked in a deep breath then, because he realised he was so small, he actually had to climb up onto the sofa to make himself comfortable. It only added more fuel to the mounting frustration and humiliation he was already suffering.

"I'll have it here Carter, thank you!" he said, beckoning with his hand for her to pass it to him where he sat; his back against the cushions behind him and his little feet barely dangling over the front edge of the settee.

"Are you sure sir? It's still pretty hot."

"Carter!" he warned, trying not to lose what little composure he had and bellow at her. "Here. Please!"

Sam chewed on her lip again and shrugged with acceptance. She had warned him, and he sounded just a touch irritated already, for which she could hardly blame him.

"Yes sir, but don't forget that being in a child's body, you're not used to handling hot things like you did as an...adult. Janet would kill me if you got scalded."

Jack grew ever more frustrated and closed his eyes, counting to fifty. This was so far beyond a joke to be anything like reality. But, he knew she was right, his small hands wouldn't be as strong or accommodating as his fully grown ones would be.

"Sir?"

Jack opened his eyes and looked up into Sam's face as she hovered over him. He nodded and grudgingly allowed her to place a tray over his legs and cover it with a dish towel to absorb any spills. Sam placed the mug into his hands and he rested it on the tray, actually grateful for her foresight; it was hot, and quite honestly, he couldn't hold it quite as steady with both hands let alone one.

"Thanks!" he mumbled rather humbly, unable to look into her face.

Sam sat back on the chair, giving him some space and flicked on the TV, channel surfing until she found an episode of the Simpsons. Placing the controller down, she took up her own mug containing a stronger brew.

Jack wanted to enjoy the episode, but he just wasn't in the mood; plus the fact that he'd seen this one so many times now he was word perfect. His troubled thoughts drifted around inside his head as he tried to piece together everything that had happened up to the point of being turned into a kid. And apart from odd flashes bringing a recollection of waking up in the infirmary with Doc telling him to get some rest – so when didn't she tell him that when he'd been confined there? – he couldn't remember a damn thing.

With his brain switched to automatic, he lifted the mug to his lips and thirstily, he swallowed a huge gulp. Then promptly spit it out again, choking in the process.

"What the hell?" he gasped when he'd managed to use his voice again.

"Sir? Are you okay? Did you burn your mouth?" Sam had known he was miles away and should have watched him more closely than she had. Was this her fault?

"Oh God! Carter? This is coffee?" he screwed up his face in disgust and shuddered, pushing the mug with the offending liquid in it, back at her. She took it with a puzzled frown. "Jeez, that's worse than dish water!" he complained.

"Sorry sir, but Daniel said you should have something hot and he didn't think you would appreciate hot chocolate or milk. Besides, Janet wouldn't be very happy if she knew you'd had any coffee, especially if it was made the way you usually drink it. I could make you some tea?"

"I'd rather have a beer!" he grumbled, his dark eyes almost disappearing beneath the fractious furrowed brow.

"That's not gonna happen Jack!" Daniel sing-songed as he entered the room hearing Jack's complaining from down the hallway. "At least not until you get your adult body back."

"Hrrummph!" Jack snorted in resentment. "My house – my beer Daniel!" he snapped, wagging a finger at his friend; which had to look so ridiculous, he knew, coming from his kid sized digit.

"Okay, yes it is your house and your beer, but unfortunately that's not your adult 6'2" body," Daniel pointed out. "So NO beer. Sorry. As far as the world outside these walls is concerned, you are just a little kid. A minor, and I know for a fact that you would never give a kid that young, a beer, Jack!"

Jack glared up at him, daring him to try and stop him, but then when he saw the look of determination and the honest truth in Daniel's face, he slumped with a strangled groan of resignation.

"Oh fer cryin' out loud!" He scrubbed his hands over his face and up through his still damp hair, making it spikier than it already was.

Daniel sat down beside him and placed a hand onto his friend's shoulder.

"I'm really sorry Jack. I know how frustrating all this must be for you, but General Hammond thought it best if we worked from here. I have all the notes I need to work on that translation so we can go back and put an end to this for you. Please, try to bear with us Jack. It's not easy for any of us."

Jack blew out a protracted sigh and nodded.

"So, why are we here? In 'my' house?" he asked, moving on because there was nothing else to say. It was an exasperating situation to say the least, but he supposed he should at least make the effort not to take it out on his team while they were stuck here 'babysitting' him.

Daniel coughed, clearing his throat and looking distinctly uncomfortable with that question which left Jack wondering what it all meant.

"Daniel? Carter? Teal'c? Anyone want to fill me in?"

Sam visibly gulped and offered him a sick smile, looking guilty and wanting nothing more than to hide. Teal'c tilted his head upwards towards the ceiling as if he found the light fitting fascinating, and Daniel looked like he'd swallowed a lemon.

"Well?"

"Um..." Daniel began, then ran through the reason at top speed as if by saying it so quickly it would make it sound more palatable. "General Hammond thought it was for the best, seeing as you, um...your little self had already caused a few problems at the SGC. Plus the fact that he thought it would be much safer for everyone on the base if you were out of the way."

Jack's eyebrows shot up as he digested and interpreted Daniel's quick-fired spiel.

"Problems? What sort of problems?" Jack was totally mystified by what he'd heard. He was stuck in the infirmary.

"You um...broke one of the artefacts in my lab and Janet had to give you a shot because you decided that sucking the blood off your finger was better than having me clean it for you." Daniel watched Jack's frown deepen, so he reached over and picked up Jack's finger, still covered in a dressing to show him. Jack's eyes widened in surprise.

"Excuse me? **I** broke something in your lab? How? I was in the infirmary? Wasn't I?"

"Ah...not exactly." Jack looked even more confused. "Okay. There's the problem. Yes, you were in Janet's care, but - and I know this is going to sound really freaky to your ears Jack - after several hours you woke up again." Daniel looked at his friend and could see Jack was still following his explanation. Now for the hard part.

"And?" Jack prompted, seeing there was far more to this story than he'd heard so far.

"It appears O'Neill, that almost every time you go to sleep you awaken as either Colonel O'Neill, or as your younger self."

"What? Are you sure about that?" Jack frowned in confusion. "I don't remember anything? Are you positive that this is not because of some kind of alien influence?"

Sam sniggered and Daniel grinned, making the frown on Jack's face turn into a scowl again.

"No. No; you're not an alien Jack. Just a child. More specifically, yourself as a four year old. Albeit, one full of 'mischief' which is why General Hammond sent us here."

"O...kaaay!" Jack sighed. Yeah he remembered getting his hide tanned by his Dad a few times when he was a kid, but...where was his rightful mind when all this was going on? "What else did I apparently do while I was busy tearing up the place being a child?"

"Uh...You're not suffering from an alien influence here Colonel, that's been proven. All our tests show that this is you, as you were back in... Well, whenever. You appear to alternate between yourself, that is Colonel O'Neill as we know you, and your younger self at around four years of age. Even going as far as to ask where your parents were and getting upset when..." Sam's voice petered out as Jack paled significantly.

"Jack?" Jack had zoned out so Daniel waved his hand a few inches from Jack's face.

Jack batted Daniel's annoying hand away along with the concern.

"I'm fine. It's just...well," Jack bit his bottom lip in deep thought. "this is a surprise. A little complicated too, I guess. What else did I apparently say or do, as a kid?" he asked, half afraid to hear what he might have revealed about his private life. He was very protective about his past and had never voluntarily disclosed anything about it. Yet here he was totally unaware of his being his younger self, and doing just that. He was a real life Jekyll and Hyde, and there was no telling what he would say or do when he reverted back to being that child again. Hell, he was never gonna go back to sleep until this had been resolved.

"Dr. Fraiser requested your immediate removal from the infirmary O'Neill," Teal'c informed him when neither Sam nor Daniel appeared to want to enlighten him.

"What? Why?" Jack wasn't sure he really wanted to know, but he also needed to know if he'd said anything more about his past.

"Because you were playing airplanes with Cassie," Sam explained with a wince. "...when you knocked over a tray of sterile instruments and dressings..."

Jack's eyebrows rose as he rolled his eyes skywards, not sure how to handle all this bizarre information, he was hearing of his younger self's antics.

"...and you kinda messed up all the beds too," Sam added with another cringe.

Jack choked and Daniel quickly handed him the can of soda that Teal'c had fetched after the coffee incident. After a few sips he gasped releasing a half cough; torn between embarrassment and amusement.

"No kiddin'?" he grinned wryly. "That would do it. So, she's gonna kill me next time I go for a check up, right?"

"I don't think so sir," Sam beamed, pleased to see him taking it so well. "Actually she thinks you're kinda cute." Her grin faltered when Jack raised his eyebrows questioningly at her gleeful expression. She coughed and dropped her eyes to the floor, while Jack ignored the images that statement had evoked because he wanted to know more.

"And General Hammond thought it was best to bring me home? Here? Why was that? Not that I'm complaining mind you, but why am I here and not at, say... your place Daniel? I thought it would have been better for you to do your translation if you were at your home among all those dry, dusty tomes?"

"Um...yeah." Daniel passed over the cynical reference to his choice of books and continued. "Under normal circumstances I would have to agree with you on that. It would have been easier, but not necessarily safer Jack."

"What? Why?" Damn! He was saying that a lot lately, but hell, he just couldn't help it with all they were telling him.

"Well, after that little mishap in the infirmary and the lab, General Hammond thought that if you were to stay at my place you might have... 'broken' a few more things, um...accidentally of course. This way he said that if you broke anything here, it would be your own things."

Jack couldn't believe his ears and gaped at Daniel thinking he'd been joking, but the nods from the rest of his team was all the proof he needed. He always knew ol' George was a wily character and now he knew he was for sure. Then made a mental note reminding himself to call him on that when he got his body back to its rightful size.

"Yes, well... So. Daniel," Jack said, thrusting his chin out trying to look innocent in that little habit he had of changing the subject when his authority was being undermined. 'And who in their right mind would take orders from a four year old?' he pondered, then shoved that thought ruthlessly to one side. "Why aren't you working on that translation yet, hmm?"

Daniel was totally unfazed by his friend's rather acerbic response, and was spared answering it by the timely ringing of the doorbell. As Sam jumped up to grab the food, Daniel now had a ready made excuse on hand.

"Ah... That would be because dinner has arrived. You hungry?"

Jack nodded and his tummy rumbled in agreement.

"Starving!" he stated watching for Sam to return with something nice. "What did you order?"

"Daniel Jackson ordered several large Pizzas, O'Neill," Teal'c replied with a hint of a smile, looking forward to his meal as always.

"Oh...Pizza huh?" Jack sighed in disappointment. Somehow he just wasn't hungry any more. "Actually, ya know... I think I'd prefer a sandwich. Did someone get any bread while they were out?"

TBC


	16. Can This Possibly Get Any Worse?

_Hey, sorry to have kept all you folks waiting for this chapter, RL has been hectic of late, due, of course, to the coming holiday and all the work it entails to be ready in time._

_Thanks as always for your reviews and I will try to get another chapter or two out before Christmas comes. I already have a nice scene with little Jack and Santa in store for a later chapter. LOL!_

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

_Previously:_

"Oh...Pizza huh?" Jack sighed with disappointment. Somehow he just wasn't hungry any more. "Actually, ya know... I think I'd prefer a sandwich. Did someone get any bread while they were out?"

Chapter 16 – Can This Possibly Get Any Worse?

All three team-mates kept giving him strange looks all through the meal. Jack hadn't touched any of the pizza, but had made do with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, much to Daniel's disgust and Sam's guilty feelings over forcing him to eat anchovies on the pizza in the commissary. She hadn't missed the shudder of revolt from Jack as he'd eyed the open boxes that lay on the coffee table. She kept telling herself that it was all her fault he had rejected his favourite meal and gone for something that most kids enjoyed instead.

After the meal was cleared away, Daniel retired to the den to begin his work on the translation. Jack was supposed to be watching the TV, but his eyelids were drooping and Sam had tried in a gentle way to persuade him to go to bed.

Each time though, his head would jerk upwards again, fighting the inevitable, and he'd growl at her in response to her suggestion.

"I'm fine! You can go to bed if you're tired, Carter. Don't let me keep you up."

"I'm okay Colonel, but you can hardly stay awake." What she really wanted to say, was that it was far too late for a four year old to stay up and that he should have been tucked up in bed a long time ago, but she knew that sort of comment wouldn't sit well with her CO.

Jack's brow furrowed, emphasising that vertical crease between his eyes and Sam knew it would be wiser if she held her tongue from now on, knowing he would fall asleep eventually.

"As you wish sir, but I'm not going to be the one to carry you to your bed when you finally succumb to the need for sleep. You can't stay awake for ever...sir," she smirked across at him.

To tell the truth, he was dog tired and being in a pint sized body wasn't helping any. He knew darn well, he wouldn't be able to fight it off soon.

Jack flipped off the TV and tossed the controller onto the coffee table then turned to face his subordinate.

"Talk to me!" he ordered, taking Sam by surprise. "Come on, I'm sure there are loads of things we can discuss?" 'Anything. Just something that will stave off this damn tiredness; because there is no way I am going to give in and go to sleep!' he silently urged his team-mate.

"Uh... okay. Um... Do you have any Christmas decorations in the house? If we're gonna be stuck here over the holidays, then we may as well make the most of it," she suggested with a shrug.

Jack rubbed a hand over his face with a sigh. He'd forgotten it was that time of the year.

"Uh...In the garage, I think. Carter...I don't usually bother..."

"I know sir, but it's different this time Colonel," Sam interrupted him. "If...em...when...maybe if your younger self returns I'm sure he would like to see all the trimmings and all; and we really should go Christmas shopping, though I'm not sure if we should get you something for 'adult' you, or for 'little' you." She used her fingers as quotes to emphasise the 'little' and had that knowing smirk on her lips that told him she was yanking his chain.

"Carter!" he warned as surly as a four year old could sound. It was so hard to put any authority into the high pitched squeak that had escaped. He did his best to avoid rolling his eyes in yet more frustration.

"Sir?" she asked entirely too innocently.

He knew she was right of course. When wasn't she? He took a moment to reflect on what it had been like when he really was young. In some big store in the city, he recalled being fascinated by a huge model layout with all the scenery peppered in snow. It had a miniature train chugging round and round in an endless loop. He remembered begging his folks for one, and despite writing to Santa, it never materialised.

He realised that it was a pivotal moment in his life when he discovered at the age of five, that Santa Claus wasn't real and it all came down to what his parents could afford to buy for him and his siblings. That's when he decided that no matter what the cost, any child of his, which happened to be Charlie, would have whatever they'd asked for, for Christmas.

"Sir? Colonel?" Sam rose from her chair and gently nudged her CO, but there was no response; he'd finally fallen asleep. She smiled deeply and went to find Teal'c who was doing his usual meditation.

Teal'c's eye opened as soon as she walked into the room.

"Major Carter? O'Neill has succumbed at last?"

"Yeah," she smiled, leaning on the door post with her arms crossed. "Finally! Teal'c, if you could get him into the bedroom, I..."

"I shall endeavour not to wake him as I do so," he replied, getting up from the floor in a fluid motion which even she envied.

"Thanks Teal'c."

Teal'c dipped his head and walked smoothly from the room while Sam stayed to lay out the kid sized pyjamas she'd purchased, and to pull the sheets back for easy access. She was still looking at the small items on the bed in amazement when Teal'c reappeared carrying a sleeping Jack in his arms. Sam sighed at the sight of her CO like that, he looked so innocent and...so incredibly cute!

Teal'c laid him on the bed and Sam gently tugged the sweatshirt over Jack's head and pulled on the pyjama top, then as she held him steady, Teal'c removed his pants and underwear and slid on the bottoms quickly while Sam avoided looking. Her experience earlier that day had been more than enough for her, and she had no wish for a repeat performance should he wake up during the process.

Thankfully, like all small kids, he'd stayed asleep despite the movements. Teal'c placed him into position and Sam pulled up the covers with a smile. He looked so cute, that butter wouldn't melt in his mouth; but, she knew so well how looks could be deceiving. She would have loved to have given him a goodnight kiss, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

Teal'c then exited the room, leaving her there to tidy his clothes away.

"Goodnight Jack!" she whispered softly to the child in the bed, wondering if he would wake as Colonel O'Neill still or as 'little' Jack? There was no way of knowing of course, but their contingency plan was that someone would stay with him during the night, just in case he woke up wondering where he was and where everyone was. They didn't want him to wake up alone.

Sam left the door on the jar and went in search of Daniel and Teal'c. Daniel, needless to say, was still hard at it in the den and Teal'c had decided on helping himself to a midnight snack and was about to watch a movie.

"Daniel?" she called, putting her head round the door. The desk was littered in books and he was tapping his bottom lip with his pen, deep in thought. "Daniel?"

"Uh...Oh, Sam. Sorry. What is it? Is Jack okay?" He went to get up, ready to help out if necessary, but she waved him back down.

"He's just fine Daniel. No problem. Teal'c and I just put him to bed. He fell asleep at long last, even though he tried his best to stay awake."

Daniel snorted with amusement.

"Yeah well, I doubt that a four year old would be able to keep awake that long, as much as Jack wanted it so."

"I just came to say Goodnight Daniel. I'll sit with him for now, Teal'c's gonna take over in about three hours time. Any luck yet?"

"Nope, not yet," he sighed regretfully. "But, I'm still only on the first page so to speak. You go rest Sam, and I hope he doesn't disturb you too much. You need your sleep too."

Sam yawned and blinked away the haze of tiredness form her eyes.

"I know, but I can't help thinking it's not gonna be that simple Daniel. This is the Colonel we're talking about; he never sleeps for long."

"And while that is about right for the adult Jack we all know, this is just a four year old body, so he may sleep like the de... well quite deeply and for longer at least." He couldn't bring himself to think about the worst case scenario should it happen, but he should get back to the translation before they lost any hope of restoring Jack to his right self.

"I know," she sighed again with resignation. She really did know, but it was still difficult to get used to things as they stood at this point. "Don't stay up all night Daniel. As frustrating as this is for the Colonel, I don't think he would want you to overdo things just for his sake."

Daniel nodded with a grimace. Yes, he knew Jack would be somewhat angry with him if he became ill through overwork, especially as it involved his own predicament. Jack would never be able to live with himself if anyone died trying to restore him to his adulthood.

"I'm okay Sam. At least for another few hours; then I'll turn in. Goodnight!"

Daniel turned back to his work, leaving Sam to close the door and get ready for bed herself.

They had erected a small truckle bed in Jack's room, and they would take turns sleeping on it to be near to Jack in case he woke in distress during the night, as he had done before in the infirmary.

OoOoOoOoO

Surprisingly, to everyone including Jack himself, he'd stayed as 'himself' when he awoke the next morning around 08:00 hours. He was just as crabby as expected though, because he was hoping that he might have woken up a normal adult, but it was not to be. Teal'c cooked some bacon and eggs while Sam made the coffee and toast, leaving Jack to lay the table; mostly because he was too small to do anything else to help them.

Daniel was up until the early hours working towards a solution, so nobody felt inclined to wake him just yet; and Sam had promised to take him a cup of coffee in an hour's time unless he woke up before then.

One the food was served and they all helped themselves, the phone started ringing. Sam was about to jump up and answer it when Jack gestured to her to remain seated, allowing the answer-phone to kick in. They could all hear it from the dining area where they were seated round the table.

"_Hi, You're through to Jack O'Neill. I'm not able to answer the phone right now and seeing as I don't have any kind of dog, trained or otherwise, to do this for me, I guess you'll just have to leave me a message after the beeps and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!"_

Sam's eyebrows rose and her lips twitched with amusement at the message her CO had left for callers; and Jack just shrugged at her smirk, and carried on listening.

"_Jack?" _The voice was familiar to him, but he'd wished now he'd answered sooner.

"Crap!" he exclaimed vehemently, and was off his seat about to pick up the phone when he thought better of it. How could he explain the reason behind his squeaky child-like voice? Instead, he stood there waiting for the message.

"_Hey! It's me, Patrick. I just wanted to say I'll be Colorado Springs today and tomorrow, and I'd like to come round and say hello. Mom keeps asking after you, ya know? I'm here on business so she twisted my arm to come see how you were. Maybe we could go for a drink. My number is..."_

Jack jumped when Sam came from behind him and reached over his head to pick up the phone. He glared up at her wondering what the hell she was doing.

"Hi there, I'm Sam..."

"_Sam? Is Jack there?"_

"Um...no. He's not here right now. He's on a mission and won't be back for some time, probably not until after the holidays."

"_Oh..."_ To Sam's ear he sounded quite disappointed.

"I can pass a message on if you like?"

"_Uh...yeah, okay. It's just that I was in the area and Mom asked me to check up on him. Ya know, make sure he was okay and all."_

"Oh, he's just fine. Tell...um...'Mom' he's okay and not to worry. I'll make sure he gets the message and maybe get him to ring her when he gets back. Okay?"

"_Sure. Fine! Uh...can I ask you a question?"_

"Yeah, sure." Sam kept her voice neutral, and refused to look down at Jack who was standing there with his hands on his hips wearing a scowl as big as Colorado.

"_Are you... I mean, who are you? Is there something Jack's not telling us?"_

Sam giggled lightly and rolled her eyes upwards, wishing she could answer, yes! Yes, that she and Jack were together in the nicest possible way, but in all honesty, she couldn't. She wouldn't do that to him unless it was true, and how she ached to be able to say it though.

"No, sorry. I'm a friend. I'm keeping an eye on the place while he's away."

"_Of course you are!" _The voice said knowingly, and Sam could almost hear the calculation of 1 + 1 2, going on inside his brain. She wasn't going to say another thing. _"Well, tell Jack, I'll be seeing him around. Bye!"_

"Bye!" Sam repeated and replaced the phone with a far away look in her bright blue eyes.

"Carter?"

Jack was practically jumping up and down demanding to know what was going on.

"Carter!" he squeaked loudly, bringing her out of her reverie.

Sam started a little, then blushed, bringing her eyes down to meet his narrowed dark ones.

"Well? What did he say?"

"Oh...um...only that your Mom wanted to know how you were doing. He wanted to drop in and thought that the two of you could go for a drink, but I said you were on a mission..."

"Yeah, yeah... I heard that part. What else did he say?"

"Sir?"

"You giggled Major! Why?" Jack's scowl was deepening and Sam didn't know quite how to put into words what exactly had passed between this Patrick, and herself without embarrassment.

"Er...he asked me a...personal question sir."

Jack closed his eyes, swore and turned about; walking over to the sofa and slumping onto the edge of the cushion. Oh yeah, he could just imagine what that was all about if he knew his brother as well as he did. He didn't like the idea of him tattling to Mom about him having a woman in his house while he was 'supposedly' away, because Patrick would tell it to all and sundry within earshot, only with a few extra embellishments added for dramatic effect. He could expect a phone call from his Mom anytime after the holiday, asking, "When had he gotten married again?" Oh yeah, he could see it all so plainly. Been there, done that!

Sam disappeared into the kitchen and poured a fresh cup of coffee out to take in to Daniel. They had a lot to get through today.

Leaving Jack to his own devices, she got showered and changed, then returned to find Daniel sitting at the table sipping at his steaming hot coffee along with Jack who looked pensive as he sipped on his hot chocolate.

"Sir?"

Jack looked up at her, but he seemed uninterested in anything.

"What?" he sighed.

"We should get ready if we're going to get what we want before they disappear."

"What?" he asked again, apparently clueless as to what she was talking about.

"What?" Daniel asked, also clueless.

"You've got work to do Daniel, while Teal'c and I are taking Ja... em...will be accompanying the Colonel Christmas shopping.

"What?" Jack yelled again. "There's no way I am going out there like this Carter!"

"Okay," she reasoned. "Then when are you going to get all your Christmas presents sir? Because unless you miraculously change back real soon, you're going to have to get a present for Cassie if nobody else."

Jack frowned at the thought, but he knew there was no way round this. He did have all their presents to get; so far he hadn't gone anywhere near the shops and had absolutely no idea what to get any of them, except George. General Hammond was always easy to buy for; there was a certain predetermined understanding between them. Every year Jack would buy him a bottle of a certain 10year old Malt Whiskey, and it was always appreciated.

Jack looked down at himself and sighed regretfully. He just did not have a choice. There was no way, he could expect to walk into a liquor store and ask for a bottle of Scotch, not at the moment at any rate. He shrugged and slipped off his chair.

"Okay. I'll go and get ready. But, there is no way I am holding onto anyone's hand out there. That would be just too damn much to ask."

Teal'c appeared in the doorway and Jack had to stop suddenly or he would have collided with the Jaffa. He looked up and groaned, while Sam and Daniel giggled in the background.

"I think you're taking this a little too far big guy!" Jack sighed, running a hand over his face to discover the only up-side of this problem; it meant at least he could get away without shaving.

Sam collapsed onto the chair in hysterics and Daniel was doubled up, leaning heavily on the table, while Teal'c stood there as impassive as ever.

"It is my understanding O'Neill that the shopping mall will be very crowded this close to the holidays. I have observed this item used on a very young child on many occasions. It would indeed look odd if you were not seen wearing it. Major Carter and I would not be happy if you were abducted by the NID whilst in our care, or perhaps we may even get separated in the crowds and were unable to locate you again O'Neill. I believe this is for the best."

Jack's scowl deepened and he turned his glacial glare onto his helpless team-mates with no reaction on their part. He knew and could understand what Teal'c was driving at, he'd been appraised about the NID already, and he couldn't fault the Jaffa for pointing this out. But, it would be so damn humiliating to be seen in public wearing one of those kiddie's wrist strap thingies, and being tethered to either Carter or Teal'c. He shuddered with revulsion.

"Oiy!" he muttered softly and rolled his eyes.

TBC


	17. A Whole New Experience!

_Hi everyone, getting near the end now, so thanks for sticking with me so far._

_Hope you all enjoy this chapter too._

_I'd like to wish you all a **very Happy Holiday and a super New Year!** _

_Thanks for all your support over this, very trying, last year. Your reviews have kept me going even when I felt like quitting. Thanks!_

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

_Previously:_

Jack's scowl deepened and he turned his glacial glare onto his helpless team-mates with no reaction on their part. He knew and could understand what Teal'c was driving at, he'd been apprised about the NID already, and he couldn't fault the Jaffa for pointing this out. But, it would be so damn humiliating to be seen in public wearing one of those kiddie's wrist strap thingies, and being tethered to either Carter or Teal'c. He shuddered with revulsion.

"Oiy!" he muttered softly and rolled his eyes.

Chapter 17 – A Whole New Experience!

Jack had released a huge sigh of relief, knowing Sam had finally given up trying to persuade him to wear that kiddie leash. He might look like a child but he most certainly wasn't one in reality. They soon arrived at the shopping mall and Sam managed to park the car in what was probably the last spot available.

Teal'c opened the car door, having kept quiet during the drive. Wise man, Jack surmised, having finally persuaded his 2IC that there was no way he was wearing any child leash. Frustrated and humiliated because his four year old hands weren't as strong as his adult self, Jack had to wait patiently for the Jaffa to unfasten the buckle. Once released, he slipped from the seat and down onto the black-top of the parking lot. Without a thought he moved off, until Sam's voice cut through him.

"Ah, Sir?"

"Carter!" he stopped and shook his head.

"Sir?" She was puzzled even more now by his actions. "What?"

Making sure there was nobody else around, Jack fixed Sam with a patient expression.

"Carter...drop the 'sir'. You just can't go around calling me sir or Colonel; at least not while I'm like this, and not here in public. People might think we're... well, strange," he explained with exaggerated hand gestures. "If you have to call me something, call me Jack for cryin' out loud!"

Sam gaped back at him and blushed, momentarily stunned by his permission to use his given name. It wasn't the first time he'd tried to get her to use it, but so far she had managed to avoid doing so, afraid she would forget herself when it mattered most. He was right though, she couldn't very well take him into the mall calling him 'Sir'; at least not unless they wanted to attract the wrong type of attention. They were being followed by a small security detail for the Colonel's protection but they had so far stayed at a discreet distance for now. If there was any trouble they would be there in a flash which made her relax a little bit more.

"Sorry sir... em... Jack," she felt herself shiver. How many times had she whispered that name in her dreams? And now, she could actually say it out loud, though for obvious reasons not in the same context, unfortunately.

"Okay campers, let's get this mission under way. Don't worry Carter if I get separated or 'lost' I'll make my way to Starbucks and wait for you there. Hey, nothing's gonna happen okay!" he reassured her.

She wasn't so sure though. Daniel wasn't the only trouble magnet on the team; the Colonel could attract the worst case scenario without lifting a finger just as easily.

"Yes Jack," she sighed with a slight smile. "...but, if I have got to call you by your given name rather than by your rank, don't you think that it goes both ways? How many 'kids' do you know call their minders by their surnames?"

Jack stopped in mid stride and gaped up at her, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline.

"Major Carter is correct O'Neill."

"Yeah, yeah. I know! Okay... Sam," he sighed tiredly and waved away any more fuss. "Let's just get this over and done with."

He didn't see the amused smiles pass between the others as they headed for the shops.

Sam had Jack's credit card tucked into her pocket, seeing as it would look strange indeed for a four year old to be using one, much to his chagrin.

OoOoOoOoO

The place was packed to the rafters with people from all walks of life; old men, young men, husbands, fathers, sons; elderly women, working women, and what seemed to Jack from his shrunken point of view, hundreds of young mothers with babies in buggies or toddlers being dragged along by their leashes and the occasional obnoxious kid who caused havoc by running riot up and down the walkways and getting in everybody's way.

Jack wanted to turn right round and go home again, but Teal'c was in the way, and he wouldn't put it past him to grab his hand and snap that kiddie leash on him, so taking a deep breath he headed into the bustling throng.

"Where to first...Jack?" Sam asked, because this was more about getting Jack to buy his Christmas gifts while he was in his right mind.

"The book shop. Not that one..." he flicked his hand towards the nearest one. "The one with the antique books. I wanna see what they've got for Daniel." It pained him to have to rely on others to help him do this; he liked to be able to browse around for something personal for each of his friends but it was going to be doubly difficult with Teal'c and Sam hanging round him and having to pay for things simply because he appeared to be a child.

They visited the book store, drug store, and countless other stores before collapsing into a hard won seat in one of the many burger bars. They almost didn't get a table, until Teal'c looked down his nose at the other couple who tried to commandeer it. Needless to say they promptly backed off allowing the three of them to thankfully sit down.

After Sam had practically inhaled the first taste of her coffee, she couldn't help but notice how exasperated Jack was looking. She could hardly blame him having been served with a strawberry shake rather than his usual coffee.

"Where else do you need to go Jack?" she asked, hoping to distract him from his unhappy state. She could clearly see him running through the list of things in his head.

"Cassie. I've still gotta get something for her and Janet. Then you are gonna have to disappear for a bit, while Teal'c and I go find your present. After that we can get the hell outta here," he sighed, pushing his half-eaten burger to one side. It hadn't helped his appetite any when the staff had spotted him; giving him a 'Happy Meal' like he really was a child, and the free toy was still sitting untouched on the table in front of him. The black look he'd given the poor woman had certainly sobered her exuberance. Nor did the fact that he'd been clearly able to overhear the comment she'd made to her co-worker about 'spoiled little brats who needed a good smack to put them in their place'.

Sam nodded. There was nothing she wanted to forget more than anything at this point. She'd been embarrassed earlier by an old friend who had swept down on them from nowhere. Karen was someone whom she hadn't seen in a long time and they'd only kept in touch via the customary Christmas cards. At any other time and she would have been very happy to see her, but not right now. Karen had practically shrieked out her name on seeing her and had rushed up and hugged her, gushing with the usual questions. That Sam could have happily lived with, but then her friend had spotted Jack and she'd immediately jumped to the very wrong conclusions. Sam could remember it all...

"_Sam! Sam. God, how are you? I was going to call in and see you. I rang your number but I couldn't get an answer. It must be all of what...six years since we met? You're looking great."_

Out of sympathy with her friend, Sam took a deep breath, feeling light-headed already from the non-stop chatter. She answered quickly trying to arrange another time as she explained that she was in a rush. Jack was looking up at her in curiosity but had that slight smirk on his lips which meant he was curious yet amused. Teal'c spent most of the time looking as if he wasn't associated with them.

"_Oh!" she squealed delightedly. "And who is this gorgeous young man?" She'd dropped to one knee and pinched his cheeks between her thumbs and forefingers. "Oh Sam, he's so adorable, aren't you honey?" she then grabbed his chin and gazed into his wide-eyed astonished face. "Why didn't you tell me you had a son? Where's his father? Unless, of course, it was one of those one-nighters we used to giggle over?" she snorted at her own joke but Sam just wished the floor had opened up and swallowed her._

Jack had turned beetroot red with annoyance and scowled his displeasure, but then decided to rub salt into the wound, knowing Sam was finding it all rather overwhelming and as embarrassing as he was. So, he'd played his part too by moving closer whilst grabbing hold of Sam's jeans and offering a shy smile; then he moved to hide behind Sam's legs, leaving Sam almost speechless with shock. Then he'd poked his tongue out at the annoying woman, who'd appeared shocked at his behaviour.

It did, however, prompt her old friend to move on, much to their combined relief. Jack had merely raised his eyebrows at Sam when he'd released his grip on her pants. She wasn't sure whether to be cross with him or actually hug him for getting rid of Karen. She did smile back though when she considered that it would probably get the rest of her friends off her back about settling down at long last, because the news about her having a son would be sweeping across the continent faster than a virus.

They had just one more thing to buy and Jack was about to send Sam somewhere else when Teal'c whispered something in Sam's ear making her eyes take on a haunted look which had Jack demanding to know what was wrong?

"Ah...Jack..." She dropped down beside him pretending to tie his shoe lace. He waited impatiently for her to explain. "Teal'c has spotted several people that seem to be taking a keen interest in us, especially you."

He nodded and understood.

"Okay..." he said with resolve. "Up for a little acting Sam?" She nodded in acceptance. Putting his performing skills to the fore, he grabbed Sam's hand and in a loud voice, began whining and pulling her towards the mall's Christmas centrepiece - Santa's grotto - just like he'd observed any pre-schooler's behaviour.

"I wanna go see Santa!" he yelled and kept tugging at her.

Sam playing her part shook her head.

"Not today Jack! We can come back another day."

"No! I wanna go now!" He really sounded like a little kid.

"No!"

"Yes!" he pouted and stamped his foot.

Playing along but finding it hard to keep a straight face, Sam let her shoulders slump, allowing the pretend fight to leave her.

"Okay. Fine!" she snapped, throwing her hands in the air. "We'll go today."

"Yay!" Jack crowed with delight, punching the air with his fist. Sam almost choked trying to hide her amusement.

So they stepped into the line of parents and toddlers who were all waiting to see Santa Claus, hoping that it would put any possible threats off the scent. Teal'c, who was carrying all the shopping, had taken off to watch things from a short distance away, covertly alerting the security detail.

Jack wanted to see what the hell was going on but he couldn't see past anyone's legs, buggies and shopping bags. Being only knee high to a grass-hopper only led to more frustration, which meant he had to rely on Sam passing on information to him without anyone overhearing.

"Pssst," Jack tugged on her hand again, making her look down at him.

"What?"

"Why isn't this queue moving?" He was getting a little antsy staying in one spot. He needed to move, to assess the danger if any; and besides, his little legs were killing him standing around doing nothing. Again he cursed being the size of a kid with all its attendant weaknesses.

"Apparently Santa doesn't arrive for another five minutes. Sorry."

"Not your fault," he responded immediately in earnest, gaining a smile from her. Not for long though because she spotted the guy wearing the Santa suit approach the display, laughing and waving to the waiting crowd of kids. He entered the magical grotto and a few minutes later they moved up the line a little.

There was still nothing happening as they inched closer and Jack was beginning to think that this had been a false alarm, but now they were stuck in this damn queue with no way out except through the grotto itself and past 'Santa'.

Teal'c approached and spoke in a low voice to Sam again and then nodded and retreated, but Jack couldn't see where he went.

Once again he tugged on her hand, needing to be kept up to date with developments. She bent low and whispered in his ear.

"Teal'c says that those people seem to have disappeared now. There's no sign of them, so he's gonna take the bags back to the car and he'll be waiting for us by the exit. She giggled as she stood.

"What?" he demanded, pulling at her once more.

"Teal'c says he hopes you tell Santa that you want yourself back again for Christmas," she whispered into his ear.

She giggled again when he scowled, trying to think of some way to gain his revenge when he was back in his own body once more.

As the line diminished ahead of him and he drew nearer to the grotto, he wondered what to do for the best. He was supposed to be a kid. Should he act like one? Though the thought of sitting on a guy's knee was giving him a damn headache. How was he supposed to live that down if someone like Ferretti got hold of the information? Or perhaps he should just walk straight through to the other side whilst waving them goodbye and getting the hell outta there a.s.a.p…

He still wasn't sure how to go about this when suddenly it was his turn. In keeping with his supposed age, he hung on to Sam's hand as they entered the darkened area. The curtain dropped down behind him closing off the outside world.

An elf stood at the now closed entryway, all false smiles and looking pretty dumb in that stupid get-up. Without a 'by your leave' he took Jack's hand and led him up to where Santa sat on his chair, again full of false 'yo ho hos' and Jack looked back at Sam who could only grin in response to his pained look of horror. It was then that the fake Santa grabbed him, pulling him onto his knee without giving Jack a chance to voice his refusal.

He struggled a little, trying to get down again but found that Santa's grip was getting tighter on his arm by the minute. This wasn't right. It was actually painful to the point of agony. He winced, yelling to alert Sam to his predicament.

"Sam?" he called but when he only received a muffled cry in response, he looked up to see the first elf had Sam in a tight grip too, his arm around her neck, and his hand over her mouth. Jack struggled even harder, and yelled for Teal'c, but then a hand was clamped over his mouth as well and he was lifted as the Santa guy stood up ready to make their escape, now that he had his quarry.

Sam couldn't believe her eyes at first, realising that Jack was in trouble. Then as she was about to go to him, she was grabbed by that stupid elf from behind. Seeing Jack struggling helplessly, she knew exactly where those people had disappeared to. Her training rapidly kicked in and she was now beginning to get the better of her opponent.

Meanwhile not one to give in so easily, Jack knew exactly what to do and kicked his foot backwards and upwards, earning a strangled scream of agony from his captor when his boot connected heavily with the man's groin. The grip loosened considerably, and Jack managed to wrestle free enough to drop to the ground. He turned about and kicked again and again at the man's knees, and stomped on his fingers.

Unseen by either Sam or Jack, another man had entered the grotto and grabbed at child Jack from behind. Then surprisingly Jack was suddenly let go. He'd heard Teal'c's deep voice utter some sort of Jaffa curse he presumed, and had flattened the guy with one punch.

Jack spun around and cheered, grateful that Teal'c had been covering his six yet again. Teal'c smiled but then his eyes narrowed and despite the yelled warning, Jack spun round quickly, but not quick enough to avoid the livid Santa's iron clutch.

He was literally picked up by the scruff of his neck, shaken roughly and thrown like a sack of potatoes against something very hard. He felt the crushing blow to his head all the way down to his toes even as the lights went out, dropping him into the deep, dark chasm of oblivion. Meanwhile Teal'c had flattened the Santa for harming his friend O'Neill.

The security detail had charged into action on seeing Teal'c rush in there, suspecting something was wrong, but were too late in preventing their charge from getting hurt.

There were three guys; Santa, an elf and another man in a suit, lying on the floor in various stages of consciousness or not. Major Carter was kneeling on the floor beside the small crumpled and very worryingly motionless body of the childlike Colonel, the one they were detailed to actually look after and prevent this thing from ever happening. Teal'c was still hovering over the crooks making sure they stayed out of trouble on the floor, his face filled with murderous intent should they move.

Captain Mortimer radioed base and explained to a very unhappy General Hammond what had transpired. He then ordered his men to remove the cuffed rogues with the help of the mall's own security guards who had discovered the hired Santa tied up and locked in the dressing room and had rushed into the chaos; not knowing what the heck was going on. Mortimer explained it as much as he could and then moved over to where Major Carter was kneeling.

"Major Carter?"

Sam looked up at him and he could see the tears shimmering in her eyes. A few had already run unheeded down her cheeks and only now did she attempt to wipe them away, but regulations be damned because there was no way she was going to let go of the small fingers held firmly in her hand.

"How is he?" he asked, squatting down opposite her and seeing the damage for himself. The child was out cold, pale and bruised; and there was a sluggish but steady trickle of blood running from a deep gash in his head, to stain the blonde hair before dripping onto the polished floor.

"He's still breathing, but I need to get him back to base a.s.a.p. Captain. I'm not sure if he's received any significant injuries, especially to his skull." That's why she held back from taking him in her arms; if he'd suffered a fractured skull moving him would only make matters worse.

"Yes ma'am. I've already spoken to the General and he's sending Dr. Fraiser and a team out here. I hope the 'boy' will be okay ma'am." He'd emphasised the 'boy' part in keeping with his orders.

She offered him a weak smile and a nod. He reflected for a brief moment, then stood and walked over to Teal'c who was now standing at the child's feet, looking down on the distressing scene.

"Mr. Teal'c?"

Teal'c turned his head slightly, but rolled his eyes around to meet those of the Captain.

"I'm sorry we didn't get here sooner to prevent this sir."

Teal'c remained silent, his cold dark eyes fixed on the young soldier, making him squirm slightly, his unspoken censure written plain in his dark features.

The Captain dropped his eyes from the huge alien's scrutiny and moved away towards the recently arrived detective, who'd been ordered in after there were several calls from worried shoppers to his unit. They spoke for several minutes before Teal'c finally relinquished his icy gaze to turn back to his friend's unconscious form.

TBC


	18. So, This is Christmas?

_Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas holiday, and I wish you all, all the best for 2007. _

_Sorry this is later than I intended, but the holiday sort of ran away with me, and hey presto, it's now the New Year. You'll just have to bear with me for a little longer – just another couple or three chapters to go. I'll post the next one tomorrow, and try to get the rest finished a.s.a.p. now the rush is over._

_Thanks for all your prayers and support during the toughest year I think I've ever had, and I wouldn't be writing still if it wasn't for your encouragement. Hugs all round with my appreciation!_

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

_Previously:_

The Captain dropped his eyes from the huge alien's scrutiny and moved away towards the recently arrived detective who'd been ordered in there by several calls from worried shoppers to his unit. They spoke for several minutes before Teal'c finally relinquished his icy gaze to turn back to his friend's unconscious form.

Chapter 18 – So, This Is Christmas?

"Sam?"

Daniel sped along the corridor towards his team-mates, desperate to find out how Jack was doing. He had rushed back to the base as soon as the General had informed him of the incident, but at that point General Hammond could not pass on any clearer knowledge of his 2IC's condition.

Jack had already been taken to the infirmary where the doctor had ordered a barrage of tests, including an MRI and a CT scan, so all they could do for now was wait; something which they all hated.

"Daniel!" Sam cried, happy to see that the last member of the team had at long last arrived. She had her arms wrapped around herself and he responded to her obvious distress by pulling her into a hug.

Teal'c nodded a silent greeting and Daniel couldn't help but feel deeply concerned almost to the point of alarm by the Jaffa's silent and more than usual solemn greeting.

"What's happened? Is Jack okay?" He really needed to know. Now!

"We have yet to learn of O'Neill's condition, Daniel Jackson. Dr. Fraiser has ordered several scans and tests, each of which requires a certain amount of time to ascertain the results."

Daniel looked up at his colleague and quickly surmised that Teal'c was feeling guilty; when the opportunity came along he was going to discuss what had occurred at the mall. Then suddenly Janet appeared looking a little harried.

"Janet?" Sam and Daniel asked together, automatically releasing each other to face their petite friend.

All eyes on her, Janet sighed and stretched her back, rolling her shoulders free of kinks.

"Well, as far as I can tell, the X-rays and the scans all look clear. He's still out of it for now and I think he'll be waking up with a headache the size of the mountain, whenever that happens. He has some nasty bruises on his neck and round the top of his arm from where he was grabbed. Other than that I would say on the whole that he's been very lucky not to have anything worse than a concussion."

There were sighs of relief all round, even from General Hammond who had silently joined them as they listened to what the Doctor had to say.

"I need a full report people," he commanded, his voice sounding official even if they all knew that he was just as concerned about Jack's condition as were the few in the SGC who knew it was actually Jack O'Neill in that child's body. "Briefing room in ten minutes, and that includes you Dr. Jackson and Dr. Fraiser." With that, he turned and walked away, and only those who knew him well could see his shoulders were slumped slightly and that his spine wasn't as ramrod straight as it was normally. No medals were on offer for guessing the General was not a happy camper.

"Can we see him for a bit?" Sam asked, needing that much. If she could only see him for herself, then at least it would give her that little bit of reassurance that she needed, to know that he was going to be okay.

Janet nodded and all three friends walked in behind the medic.

Jack had been cleaned up, which had made the darkening bruises stand out even more against the paleness of his skin. There were several stitches and a purple bruise clearly visible in a small shaved area in his hair. It was an obvious confirmation of where he'd hit his head. There were also colourful finger marks on his cheeks when that brute of a Santa dug his fingers into the soft flesh around Jack's mouth, and even more vivid marks, where a hand had squeezed the delicate flesh of an upper arm, despite the thickness of clothing.

Daniel winced when he saw the bruising and knew that for a child's body to suffer that, it must have hurt like the very devil. In a way he could only be thankful that Jack was in his right mind during the attack because if it had been four year old Jack then the outcome would have been a totally different story.

As the three team-mates stood beside the bed in solemn mood, Janet was busy checking the monitor. She frowned slightly and placed her hand over Jack's forehead.

"Janet?" Sam wasn't happy seeing Janet's concern deepen.

"His temperature is slightly elevated." And they all knew what that could possibly mean; Jack's mind was changing back into that of a child again.

Their time up, they reluctantly drifted away to prepare for the debriefing.

Janet didn't want to leave him on his own, especially if he was to wake up as a child again, but then fate took a hand and Cassie stepped into the infirmary, so Janet quickly explained everything to her and left for the briefing room. Cassie was more than happy to stay with Jack, wondering if he would stay little over the Christmas holidays, now only a week away.

OoOoOoOoO

General Hammond had listened to their accounts of the events in the Mall, calling on Sam, Teal'c and Captain Mortimer too, to fill in the whole sorry story.

"Have they said anything sir?" Sam enquired after the three men who tried to abduct the Colonel.

General Hammond did not look happy at all. He'd spent a considerable amount of time on the phone to the President, and then to Colonel Simmons.

"Nothing, but then they don't have to, because I spoke with their CO earlier..."

"Simmons!" Daniel almost spat the name out. The man had been determined to get at Jack by fair means or foul.

"So it was the NID?" Sam stated rather more than asked for confirmation.

Hammond nodded his face as black as thunder at the mention of those rogues in sheep's clothing. They were all supposed to be on the same side, but sometimes it felt like they were the enemy.

"Colonel Simmons will be here to interview Colonel O'Neill tomorrow. I've spoken to the President about the abduction, and he's assured me that Colonel O'Neill will be left alone from now on, as long as he answers a few questions from the NID. I'm to keep him posted on the Colonel's progress and send him details of the interview. Which takes me to your report Doctor."

Janet opened her files and read out loud the latest report on Jack's condition.

"...It seems his temperature is elevated slightly, and going by past indications, this leads me to conclude that the Colonel's alter-ego will reappear as soon as he wakes up."

"So, although there's no real physical damage from that blow to his head, he's going to revert to a child again?" Hammond needed to be sure. He knew full well how fragile a young child's skull could be, and for all intents and purposes, Jack was in a child's body.

"There's no damage as far as I could see sir. He should be fine in time, but I'd like to keep him in the infirmary at least overnight and tomorrow if he's still out of it by the morning. However I can't guarantee that Colonel Simmons will be able to get any relevant information out of him if he reverts back to his childhood again."

Hammond nodded thoughtfully for a moment before moving on to the other problem facing the Colonel at present.

"Which brings me to you Dr. Jackson. Any progress with that translation yet?"

"Ah...no not yet General, but I am sure it won't be too long now. I've managed to figure out the actual words, now it's just a case of converting the ancient texts into something that makes sense."

"I thought you could read the Ancient's language?"

"I can, but this is slightly different to what I'm used to..."

"How different Doctor?"

"It's...well, a lot of the words are new to me and could have several meanings, so I..."

General Hammond interrupted him once again.

"But you can do the translation?"

"Ah...yes sir!"

"Good. Keep me posted people!" Hammond hurriedly dismissed them and headed back into his office to update his report to his CIC.

OoOoOoOoO

Jack sat up suddenly with a frightened squeal. His eyes wide open and darting round wildly, then his face scrunched up in pain and he curled over in on himself, tears beginning to leak from both eyes.

Cassie was there at once, sitting on the edge of the bed and bringing Jack into a comforting hug, all the while uttering soothing noises as she held him close.

"It's okay Jack. It's me Cassie. You're safe here!" she rocked slightly just as Janet did to her when she was feeling particularly unhappy or unwell.

The pain in Jack's head hurt so much and he felt sick too. He struggled away from Cassie's grip and turned away quickly, leaning over the side of the bed just in time before he threw up, covering some of the sheets and the floor with vomit. He moaned piteously as his head felt like it was going to explode.

Cassie had yelled for a nurse as soon as she realised why Jack had pushed away from her; probably because he'd turned slightly green at the time. Nurse Fornell fussed over him and gave him some medicine to help settle his tummy, and then she moved him to a clean bed while ordering a couple of nurses to clean up the mess and change the bed.

Cassie sat back on the bed and a miserable feeling Jack curled up against her.

"Where's Sam?" he asked, his voice nothing more than a whisper.

"Well, Uncle Daniel, Aunty Sam, Teal'c and Mom had to go to a meeting with General Hammond," Cassie informed him.

He didn't answer for a long time and just when she thought he'd nodded off to sleep, he put forward another question.

"Why?"

"Why? Why are you sick? Or why are they at a meeting?" Cassie puzzled.

Jack shrugged. It didn't really matter anyway, the last thing he could recall was falling asleep in Sam's lap on the floor of the men's room. He'd been really upset and Sam had hugged him making him feel better. Daniel had lied to him and the 'jolly giant' – Teal'c - had only annoyed him. So why was he here in Doctor Janet's hospital? Apart from the fact that he had been sick, and his head hurt; what was wrong?

"Did I eat something bad? Like those little fishy things that Sam said I would like?" He moved his head so that he could look up at Cassie's face.

Cassie then recalled the 'fun' he'd had over the Anchovies on his Pizza.

"No. No, it wasn't that. Mom said you'd hit your head and you have a concussion."

"Oh!" Jack wasn't sure what a concussion was, but Cassie seemed to know what she was talking about. Maybe in Doctor Janet's medical words it meant a headache? So, yes he had one of those. He didn't remember hitting his head, so he figured he must have fallen off something he shouldn't have been on in the first place. As always. He couldn't recall the number of times he'd been scolded because he'd fallen out of trees and the like and gotten several bumps and bruises for his trouble.

OoOoOoOoO

It wasn't too long before the others returned, but by then Jack had fallen asleep against Cassie. By the fact that Jack was curled up against Cassie, Janet had her theory confirmed about him reverting back to his childhood again. She carefully moved Jack away from her daughter, and laid him back against the pillows while her staff filled her in on what had happened. It had aroused her curiosity at seeing Jack in another bed from the last time she'd seen him.

"Is he okay?" Daniel asked with growing concern when he'd heard how Jack had woken like that and had been sick.

Janet tried explain that with a concussion it was more than likely to upset his tummy, being only a small child. Hoping this would confirm to the others that she was right.

Jack was slowly becoming aware of the voices and when he heard Daniel he opened his eyes and glared at the archaeologist, still feeling angry towards him; only this time he couldn't run away or lock himself in the bathroom.

"Hey!"

Jack looked round at the soft voice and saw a smile on Sam's lips. His return smile was genuine. Sam hadn't let him down. He sat up and reached out to her.

Knowing this was child Jack again, Sam didn't hesitate to gather him into her arms, rubbing his back soothingly.

After a moment when all eyes were on her and 'little' Jack, he pulled back and looked straight up into her startlingly blue eyes.

"You wouldn't upset me would you Sam?"

"Wha...what? No! No of course not, but what do you mean?" she spluttered in surprise.

Jack cast Daniel such a dark glare, it made the archaeologist feel like he was a child beater or something worse. He still couldn't figure out what he was supposed to have done.

"You lied to me!" Jack accused, as if Daniel had actually spoken, and was unaware that he had gripped Sam tighter.

"I...I did? About what Jack?" Daniel was stunned almost speechless.

Jack clung to Sam forcing her to take all of his weight that she was compelled to sit on the edge of the bed before he toppled her over.

"You said you were going to take me home, but you just keep me here and I haven't seen my mommy and daddy, and I don't like it here and I don't know where here is and I wanna go home and I hurt and I'm sick and ..." he trailed off to sniff and wipe his face with his sleeve as the tears came thick and fast; much to his shame and annoyance. He just felt so out of sorts. He'd bumped his head loads of times, but never felt this bad before, and he didn't know why he was feeling bad.

Sam pulled him onto her lap and cradled him, her eyes suspiciously moist as she held him close.

Daniel felt like he'd been kicked in the gut. How could he have done that to this child-like Jack of all people? Of course Jack would wonder where his parents were! Jack wasn't stupid. If anything he was quite intelligent, even as a four year old.

He approached the bed deep in thought, and Janet led Cassie away from the room, leaving the team together to try and explain things to Jack as best they could.

OoOoOoOoO

"So I can't ever go home?" Jack felt lost and somewhat mystified.

"I'm sorry Jack. Really I am." Daniel could feel for him. He so knew how that felt to be without a family.

"We're here for you Jack, no matter what. We'll be like your parents; until you grow up that is," Sam added hoping that it might reassure Jack that he wasn't all alone after all.

Between them, they had tried to explain that both Jack's parents were now dead and that although time had somehow been changed for him, up until Daniel and Teal'c had discovered him that day. Other than that they couldn't mention that he should, in reality, have been an adult or that he was off-world when he'd met this unfortunate fate.

But, now that they had explained as much as they could to him, Jack was at least happy to know that Daniel wasn't hiding the truth from him and that he really didn't lie as such. The down side was learning that there were some pretty nasty guys out there, called the NID, and that they wanted to take him away. They had promised him that they wouldn't let that happen and that this was the reason he was feeling sick because of a recent botched attempt.

A little while later Janet came back in and ordered everyone to leave, but Jack wanted at least one of them to stay. He felt shy about asking, because he was supposed to be a Colonel even if he didn't feel like one right now, but they didn't think any less of him for needing comfort and reassurance. They worked out a rota and took turns in sitting with him while he slept through the night.

Janet kept checking on him until the morning when she had seen him devour some oatmeal and toast. Satisfied that he was feeling much better, she discharged him from the infirmary and took herself off home for some sleep.

Daniel who had been forgiven was back in favour once more and took Jack back to his lab, which was the safer option than Sam's, where he made the boy sit in the corner with some paper and crayons while he got back to work. They would have returned to Jack's adult home, but as Simmons was expected at the SGC soon, it wasn't worth the effort.

TBC


	19. A, Far From, Silent Night!

_Sorry to keep you waiting... bad couple of days, which is typical, just because I said I was feeling better! Such is RL!_

_Thanks for your reveiws - though I haven't actually received any via the e-mail as yet...again! No updates either, so I'm hoping I can catch my favourite reads as they get posted._

_Hope you enjoy this extra-long chapter!_

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

_Previously:_

Daniel, who had been forgiven, was back in favour once more and took Jack back to his lab, which was the safer option than Sam's, where he made the boy sit in the corner with some paper and crayons while he got back to work. They would have returned to Jack's adult home, but as Simmons was expected at the SGC soon, it wasn't worth the effort.

Chapter 19 – A, Far From, Silent Night.

It was very late when Daniel received the call to take Jack along to the briefing room. He reluctantly stood, stretched and then called him over. Jack dropped everything and ran to his side, looking up at him eagerly, making Daniel smile. Now that they were friends once again, Jack had quickly reverted to the level of friendship they'd always had.

Daniel walked along the corridor deep in thought, Jack holding his hand obediently for a change, and several people nodded and cast them wondrous looks. As they reached the door to the briefing room, Daniel hesitated, listening to the overly loud conversation going on inside...

"...Major Carter, Teal'c," Hammond asked growing impatient. He needed to get this over and done with and Colonel Simmons off his base a.s.a.p. "Where are Dr. Jackson and the boy?"

"Or should we make that Dr. Jackson and... Colonel O'Neill?" Simmons practically purred with relish. Every pore was oozing with slime, and he wore that self-satisfied smug expression that he'd put on when he thought he had one over on everybody else.

"I've already informed you that Colonel O'Neill is not on this base right now." Hammond looked about ready to implode.

"Sir, I'm sure Daniel will be joining us shortly."

Hammond indicated that he understood and sat down trying to calm himself, settling in for the wait. Unfortunately Simmons took this to mean he could sit down too, much to the General's chagrin. How news of Colonel O'Neill's misfortune had leaked out was anybody's guess at this moment in time, but it was obvious that the NID hadn't lost any time in seeking the truth; hence the attempted abduction.

Simmons was here with orders sanctioned by the President to question the child; his own belief in him being O'Neill and therefore a danger to the secrecy and security of the Stargate Programme. Hammond knew that with Jack's missing memories, the NID Colonel would be wasting his time, something at which those in the SGC would be perfectly happy to live with and given the opportunity, would generously throw him off the base without preamble.

"Along with Colonel O'Neill too?" Simmons asked persistently with a smirk.

OoOoOoOoO

Daniel stood outside the door as still as a statue. He couldn't help overhearing Simmons words or the barely concealed smugness behind them. He looked down at Jack who was frowning up at him full of curiosity as to why they had stopped shy of entering.

"Dan...oomph?"

Daniel slapped a hand hastily over Jack's mouth and looked around him frantically. He spotted a store room a little further along the corridor and shoved a startled Jack towards it, still keeping his hand firmly clasped over his mouth.

Once inside he squatted down beside a red-faced Jack who pouted and glowered with displeasure as soon as Daniel released him.

"Why did you do that?" demanded Jack, slapping his hands onto his slim hips in keeping with his annoyance.

"Look, I'm sorry Jack but...you see, there's one of those 'nasty' men in the briefing room, who would love nothing more that to take you away from us," Daniel explained, laying a hand on Jack's shoulder, trying to soothe away the boy's irritation.

"Oh!" Jack was shaken, wondering why that man would want to do that to him. "Why would he want to take me away Daniel? Do I know him?"

"Uh...well, um, you, as of this minute, don't really know him, but I do know you really won't like him. He's not a very nice man. He might...um...want to hurt you."

"Why?" Jack asked, unable to think what he'd done to make the man actually hurt him. "Have I been bad?"

"No! No of course not. Well... there is another reason, but...it's hard to explain." Daniel was lost for words. There was no way to put this in plain words to tell a child that he was really his team leader and 2IC of the most top secret base in the world. How could he tell him that he'd had an accident on a different planet and it had made him into the child he was more than 45 years ago? It was impossible, that's why they'd made up that story about him sleeping for so long, thinking it would be easier; but now he wasn't so sure anymore.

If anything, Jack, as an adult, was always completely honest with him, barring that one time when he'd told him that their friendship meant nothing; but that was an ugly necessity at the time and Jack had promised never to do that again after grovelling for forgiveness. He had to trust this Jack too.

"This man believes you are someone else, another Jack O'Neill, and that in your present state – that is, by being a child - that you are a danger to this base and possibly to the whole world."

Jack's eye's widened with surprise at this, and then narrowed as a thought came to him.

"Am I?"

"What? A danger? Well, possibly, but not because you would do or say anything, but because you may not understand things you see around here that's all."

"Not that. Am I really this other Jack O'Neill?" Jack's voice was low, almost pleading for the truth. His dark eyes boring into Daniel in the hope that he'd capitulate and tell him everything.

Daniel squatted down and pulled Jack forward to stand between his bent knees, holding him gently as he turned his face towards him, locking the dark eyes onto his light blue ones.

"I'm not going to lie to you Jack, but I am asking you to wait until later for a proper explanation. Do you understand me?"

Jack frowned. He wasn't sure about any of this. He really wanted to know why he was here and what had happened to him. But, he did trust Daniel for some unfathomable reason, because really, Daniel was still an almost complete stranger to him. Though he did tell him the truth about his parents, so he hadn't been that bad. Yet, even then, there was something deep down inside him which told him to trust the bespectacled man, so now he would do.

"I...I suppose so." Jack shrugged. "For now!" And he'd hold him to that promise too!

"Jack, I can't go into details right this minute, but I really need you to be the child that you are. I promise as soon as this man has gone we will be able to tell you what happened and why you are here like this."

"Then I guess I'll just have to wait huh?" he said brightening up at the thought of learning about himself at long last.

Daniel nodded with a sad smile, and Jack threw himself into his arms, holding on tight. Daniel hugged back, blinking back the gathering moisture from his own emotions. This mini version of Jack was so damn trusting of him, and he really didn't deserve this, seeing as it was his fault Jack was somehow stuck inside this small child. He also couldn't help but wonder what had happened in his former years to turn him into such a cynic in later life? But, he'd doubt he would ever know why that was; Jack was such an intensely private person and never revealed anything from his past.

After several moments they both pulled apart. Jack smiled rather mischievously.

"Okay Daniel. You wanted a kid, so here I am!"

"Ah, now Jack. We...er...we don't want any trouble..."

"What trouble? From me?" Jack looked the picture of complete innocence; a look which Daniel had already become familiar with from the adult version.

He saw that mischievous gleam in the boy's eye and knew they were in for it. He only hoped that it was for the good of the SGC.

"Just one more thing Jack. I...er I think it might be best if we call you something other than Jack for now, okay?"

"Sure," Jack shrugged.

"Do you have a nickname or something they called you at home other than Jack?"

"My grandma calls me... em... she'd dead too huh?" Daniel nodded an affirmative, so Jack continued. "She used to call me Jonjo."

"Jonjo?" Daniel's eye's raised in surprise. He never thought Jack would ever tell him anything like that, well, not in his right mind, which brought him right back to feeling guilty again.

"Yeah. From Jonathon Joseph. My proper name."

"Ah...okay then, that's...actually quite good." It could sound sort of alien. "So - Jonjo it is." Daniel couldn't help the smile forming. He would love to see Jack's face if and when he ever got the opportunity to call him that in the future, supposing that they could reverse the process and get Jack back to his real age and size that is.

Jack jumped up and grabbed Daniel's hand, pulling him upwards. Daniel gathered up his things and stood, allowing Jack to drag him back towards the briefing room. The worst part of this was that he couldn't warn his team-mates or the General for that matter about what might happen once Jack was inside that room.

OoOoOoOoO

General Hammond sat at the head of the table with a thunderous expression on his face, while the person who was responsible for putting it there couldn't look more relaxed if he'd tried.

Simmons had made himself at home at the other end of the table and had set up a small recorder on the table, pointing towards the little group opposite him. He smiled the smile of pure innocence in response to the dark scowls from Major Carter and Janet Fraiser, and all but ignored the darker threatening glare coming from the Jaffa warrior.

An uneasy silence had fallen in the briefing room and the only audible noise was that of Simmons low slightly off-key humming accompanied by the drumming of his fingers on the dark wood of the table as they waited for Daniel and Jack to show up.

The door flew open and Daniel rushed in followed by Jonjo who stayed in Daniel's shadow, hanging onto his hand.

"Um Hi. Sorry I'm late General. Ah...**Jonjo** and I had to make a quick detour at the last minute." Which was perfectly true...sort of. "Did I miss anything?"

If General Hammond, Janet, and the other half of SG-1 were surprised by the sudden change of name they did well to mask it.

Jonjo went up to the General and saluted cheekily, making the older man break into a warm smile and salute back.

"Jonjo," Daniel called. "Come and sit here next to me. I've got some paper and coloured pencils for you. Perhaps you would like to draw a picture or two?"

"Okay," Jonjo replied jauntily and climbed onto the chair, kneeling up and leaning against the table for better access. He looked across the table and grinned widely when he saw Sam smile at him. "Hi Sam. Hi Dr. Janet."

"Hello Jonjo," they both replied with amused smiles and raised eyebrows. "How are you feeling now?" Janet added, ever the Doctor.

"I'm fine!" Jonjo scowled because he was okay and hated all the fuss.

He looked round the table and spotted Teal'c whose face had remained passive since their entry, but he did dip his head slightly in greeting. Then he saw a stranger sitting at the other end of the long table eyeing him suspiciously. He didn't particularly like the look of the man and knew without a doubt that this was the bad guy Daniel had spoken about.

"As we're all here, let's get this meeting under way people. Ah, Colonel Simmons, this is Jonjo." General Hammond introduced the boy to the Colonel, but neither said a word of greeting. Simmons looked puzzled by the name, while Jack just fixed his dark eyes on the stranger.

Jonjo continued to stare at him, seemingly full of curiosity. Simmons locked eyes with the boy for what seemed an age until finally, the NID Colonel had to clear his throat and pointedly looked down at his papers. Jack smiled inwardly at his triumph in making the man give up first.

"Don't mind me," Simmons stated, looking up again almost immediately, but straight at the adults this time; studiously trying to ignore Jonjo who was still gazing at him and making him feel damn uncomfortable. "Please go ahead with your mission report Dr. Jackson. I believe it will prove to be very interesting." He smiled that obsequious smile again, though he could feel the sweat begin to bead on his forehead. Was that kid ever going to stop staring at him?

"When you're ready Dr. Jackson," Hammond said, giving him a particular look which told him that he was okay with whatever story he could come up with to put Simmons in his place.

Daniel cleared his throat and stood up, then made his way to the coffee pot to pour himself a cup of the rich dark brew. He couldn't do this without a good dose of caffeine inside him. He leisurely made his way back to his seat and sat down again. He sifted through his notes and cleared his throat again.

"We found the temple exactly where we thought it would be and the Colonel decided to split us up, probably to save time. Sam and Teal'c were sent off to scout around the area and to check over the soil for deposits of Naquadah and also to keep an eye out for hostiles."

Jonjo had apparently lost all interest in the report and had begun to draw a picture of his new family, but, he was actually listening to Daniel too, hoping that he might find out why he was there and what had happened to him.

"I spent some time going over the writing but it was difficult to interpret without a reference. I though I had found something and called the Colonel over." Daniel paused chewing on his bottom lip from the fresh round of guilt he felt deep down inside. It was all his fault!

"So what did you do Dr. Jackson? Please, go on. I am all ears. This is just so damn thrilling."

Everyone at the table shot daggers at Simmons who had interrupted Daniel with such cynicism and contempt in his voice that Sam had to place a hand on Teal'c's arm to prevent him from tearing the NID Colonel apart.

Jonjo was now certain that Daniel was right. This man was nasty. It was obvious from his comments that he didn't like Daniel much at all.

"As I was saying General, I called the Colonel over to show him my findings but I accidentally activated one of the symbols on the altar. There was a grating noise and part of the wall moved away to reveal another room. Jack...em, Colonel O'Neill held me back while he cautiously entered to make sure it was safe."

Daniel paused for a moment to catch a deep breath, knowing he would have to alter the truth if he was to protect Jack from Simmons and the NID.

"I'm sorry General. It's entirely my fault. As soon as he walked into that room he was doomed. A force field came down and we couldn't find a way of dropping it so that the Colonel could get out. It was then that a bright light filled the room. I called after him, but he was..." Daniel swallowed hard. Jack's screams of pain still haunted him. "...he was screaming in pain. When the light finally shut off... the Colonel was gone." Needing a refill, he picked up his now empty mug and headed back to the coffee pot. He stood with his back to the others while he tried to come to terms with events yet again. It had all been his damn fault.

There was a slow hand clap from the other end of the room as Simmons sneered in irritation.

"Is that the best story you could come up with?" he asked with a snort of disbelief. "I have to admit it was such a moving account Dr. Jackson that you almost had me believing it for a moment there."

"That is what happened Colonel!" Sam cried in Daniel's defence.

Simmons glared at her, his eyebrows raised.

"And just how would you know Major? According to your own report, you weren't even with Dr. Jackson at that point; am I right? Or did you falsify your report to hide the truth that this child is Colonel O'Neill in reality?"

Sam sighed and pursed her lips, slumping back into her seat knowing he had a point, yet furious that he was accusing her of lying. She wasn't with the Colonel or Daniel until after the incident, though that didn't stop her trying to back him up. She'd trust Daniel at any time rather than Simmons. She wouldn't even trust him to make the coffee.

"I trust Daniel with my life Colonel," she almost spat in response. "I'd rather trust his word than yours any day of the week...Sir."

"Major!" Hammond did his best to soothe over the ruffled feathers quickly. "Colonel just what are you trying to say? That my people are covering up for their missing senior officer, whom I remind you is still unaccounted for? The sooner you get this over and done with the sooner I can send my best teams to that planet to retrieve my 2IC!"

"I thought that was rather obvious General. It all sounds a little suspicious if you ask me..." Here he was interrupted quickly by Teal'c.

"I do not believe anyone in this room is interested in your opinion Colonel Simmons!"

Simmons gave the Jaffa a disparaging glare and carried on as if he hadn't been interrupted.

"...and too far fetched. You lose Colonel O'Neill in a flash of light and then minutes later you find this young child? I don't see anyone here actually mourning the apparent loss of their team leader."

Sam looked as if she'd swallowed a lemon and Daniel, still with his back to them, stiffened and took a deep breath to compose himself. General Hammond's face took on an unhealthy puce colour as he sat there steaming with righteous indignation.

"Are you suggesting that we don't actually care that Colonel O'Neill is out there somewhere, maybe lost, possibly injured, and all you can do is postulate your half-cocked theories that this mere child is the real Colonel O'Neill?" Hammond was livid. "Unlike you Colonel, we actually do care about our people. As soon as this briefing has ended I'm going to call in another team to head back out and search for our missing man. We don't leave our people behind!"

Simmons turned to Jonjo, focussing his questions on the child, but Jack ignored him and jumped down from the chair.

Jonjo, who had actually been taking it all in, walked over to Daniel, and then wormed his way under Daniel's arm, looking up at his friend with dark eyes full of trust.

"I don't blame you at all Daniel," Jonjo whispered, having understood more than he should have. It raised a lot of questions in his mind but he did trust these 'friends'.

Daniel gulped down his coffee and peered down at his 'little' friend. He knew without a doubt that young Jack had now realised who he really was. However they couldn't let Simmons know that. Instead Daniel shook his head and said in a deliberately loud voice, gently propelling Jack back towards the briefing table.

"No way Jonjo. Coffee is for adults. There's a glass of water on the table if you want a drink. Go on." He had to make sure that Simmons believed he was asking for a drink.

Daniel shooed him away, but Simmons who was up from his seat already, hurried impatiently over to them and grabbed the child by both shoulders, squatting down to his level. He hated to be ignored, especially by a child whom he believed was Jack O'Neill.

"Now you listen to me you little bastard. You are Jack O'Neill aren't you? I know you are. Come on Colonel, you can't deny this any longer. Tell me who you really are? I want to hear it from your own lips."

Jonjo gaped wide eyed at Simmons, but he wasn't really afraid. He knew Daniel and the others would protect him. But he really had no memory of being this adult Jack.

Teal'c was out of his seat quicker than lightning, and was about to grasp Simmons when Daniel held him off.

"Go ahead Jonjo. Tell him who you are. Tell him how we found you wandering around half naked and starving." Daniel's eyes held a fire which Jonjo took to mean that he could make up anything he wanted.

"Tell me!" Simmons shouted, gripping the boy so hard that Jonjo winced from the pain, yet still he stubbornly refused to reveal anything.

"No! Nonononono!" Jonjo squirmed, trying to get away.

"Why you..." Simmons shook the boy so hard it made Jack's brain rattle and hurt worse than before.

"Colonel! May I remind you that that is a young child you are abusing. And the last time I looked it was against the laws of humanity to do so!" Hammond wasn't going to stand for any child abuse, especially on his base. Now he was on his feet too.

Daniel released Teal'c and was ready to make a grab for the boy.

Jack felt the heat rise up in his body again. He could feel himself begin to get a fuzzy feeling in his head. He forced himself to push away those feelings, because the last thing he wanted to do was pass out.

With an extreme effort on his part, Jack reacted in the only way he knew how and lashed out with his foot, kicking Simmons in the knee as hard as he could.

"Ouch! Why you little brat..." Simmons cried releasing the boy and standing up quickly. In a fit of temper he lashed out and caught Jonjo hard across the face, splitting his lip and sending him reeling backwards to apparently strike his head on the leg of the table.

Jonjo just lay there frighteningly still. As was everyone in the room for the briefest of seconds that felt like an eternity.

After that it was mayhem as Teal'c, unable to keep himself under restraint any longer, pounced on Simmons who went down under the tackle, and then suddenly there were four SF's who'd been summoned immediately by the General to arrest Simmons, but first they had to rescue him from under Teal'c. Apparently they were in no hurry to do so either. Not so much afraid of the huge Jaffa, but rather, relishing the fact that Simmons was getting his just rewards for harming a child.

Daniel in the meantime was kneeling beside the inert Jonjo while Sam hovered nearby watching Janet check the boy over.

"He's okay, just unconscious. No broken bones, and his stitches are still okay, but he will have a fat lip for a while," she said through gritted teeth, glaring behind her at the melee still going on. "Daniel can you carry him? I need to get him to the infirmary. I think we should definitely get him away from here."

Daniel carefully picked up the limp form and carried him carefully out of the room and into the elevator along with Sam and Janet, leaving the chaos behind.

OoOoOoOoO

"Janet?"

"I know Daniel. He has a temperature again." Janet's dark eyes met those of Daniel's with understanding.

"You mean he's..." Sam looked stunned as Janet nodded in agreement.

"So it's happening again?" Daniel sighed unhappily. How many times was this going to happen before he could put things to right?

"I think it must have happened when Simmons shook him like that. He looked quite dazed afterwards."

"So it wasn't the collision with the table leg that actually rendered him unconscious?" Sam speculated.

"No, I don't think it was. He doesn't have another bump on his head. I already checked that."

By this time the elevator had come to a halt and the doors slid open. Janet led the way down the hall and Daniel followed quickly with Sam close on his heels.

The Doctor pointed to a bed and moved to pull the curtains round it while Daniel laid the still unconscious and feverish boy onto the bed. Sam stood next to Daniel, and Janet took out her pen light to shine it into Jack's eyes.

A nurse entered the cubicle a few minutes later and placed a bowl of cool water and a clean cloth onto the table and then left. Sam made a move to wet the cloth and wring it out, then mopped at Jack's over-heated brow, trying to cool him down.

"Is this going to happen each time something happens to him too, Janet?" she asked, unconsciously voicing Daniel's thought too. Normally it would only happen when he'd been sleeping, though this was similar to the first time it occurred.

Janet shrugged, finding herself at a loss, she really didn't know what to think or expect. It wasn't something that she came across every day of the year and knew with a certainty that this wasn't mentioned in any of her medical journals. She was – playing it by ear, as it were.

TBC


	20. A Present for the Future?

_Well, we're nearly there! Sorry it took me longer to get this done, but I hope you will enjoy it anyway. Thanks as always to those of you who have bothered to send in a review, especially with FF being out of sorts at the moment._

_**Last chapter up tomorrow!**_

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

_Previously:_

Janet shrugged, finding herself at a loss, she really didn't know what to think or expect. It wasn't something that she came across every day of the year and knew with a certainty that this wasn't mentioned in any of her medical journals. She was – playing it by ear, as it were.

Chapter 20 – A Present for the Future.

General Hammond had ordered a distinctly looking worse for wear Colonel Simmons to a holding cell, escorted by a couple of SFs as well as Teal'c. The latter being there to make sure that the prisoner didn't try to pull rank over the younger guards, who were there also to prevent the mountain of an alien from finishing the prisoner off completely.

Once he'd seen the Colonel marched away Hammond unclenched his fists and returned to his office where he sat down in his chair for a few minutes to calm himself before picking up the phone and dialling the President. He would make sure his CIC would have a full report of the proceedings of this less than joyful debriefing.

If he had his way Simmons would be court-martialled for striking an officer, but that would only expose the secret surrounding the boy's presence to the NID; something which he would not want haunting Colonel O'Neill for the rest of his days. He wouldn't put it past them to abduct the adult Colonel on his return – if all went well, that is – to duty, or try another method of persuading 'little' Jonjo to reveal his true identity and secrete him away somewhere with little hope of finding him.

OoOoOoOoO

The two team-mates had stood vigil over Jack as he tossed and turned in his fevered dreams. Sam had several times, wiped the moisture from his brow. He just couldn't seem to get a break. The sooner Daniel got back to work the better, because she was so worried what this was doing to her CO.

His temperature seemed worse this time around. The last change he'd made, back to being a child, had gone practically unnoticed, as did the change before that. Recalling that certain change, it still had the power to make her blush. More to the point though, would he actually remember it? Oh, she sooo hoped not!

Long minutes dragged into an hour and then Janet was back checking on him.

"His temperature has dropped at last. He'll sleep more peacefully now."

Sam nodded; she had noticed his jerky movements had gradually abated.

"Janet?"

"Yeah?"

Will it be okay to take him home tomorrow? It will be Christmas Eve and we've got the tree to finish decorating and the presents to wrap..."

Janet hemmed and hawed, wondering what to do for the best. He wasn't out of the woods yet, and she really wanted to keep an eye on him for a while longer.

"Look..." she said, brightening up with a sudden thought. "...why don't you all come round to my house for Christmas? Cassie's decorated the house and the tree this year and it would be a shame if nobody else was there to admire her efforts. It would make her really happy. We can put all the presents under the tree. This way I can keep an eye on him all day and perhaps you can all stay the night so we can both watch over him while he sleeps too."

"All of us?" Sam gaped in surprise.

"Of course! I usually end up coming over to yours or the Colonel's house anyway; this way I can pay you back. I've got plenty of food in and a turkey that far too big for just the two of us. Please Sam! We'd love to have you guys come round."

"I'll have to find out what Daniel and Teal'c think first... But, I can't see them refusing your offer, not when I'm the one that would be cooking in the Colonel's absence," she stated wryly, rolling her eyes; knowing full well the food would be better for their digestion if Janet took over the kitchen. Not that she couldn't cook, but Christmas dinner was a far cry from pizza, cookies and coffee!

"That's settled then! I won't take no for an answer. I'm not sure how Cassie will take to a 'little' Colonel if he's in his right mind; it might prove a little awkward but no doubt she'll be okay. I just can't see him crawling all over the floor with her like his younger self would. We'll have to make allowances Sam; he may not be the life and soul of the party," she warned in a hushed whisper.

"Actually he wasn't that bad last time 'he' emerged." Sam whispered back, emphasising the 'he' with finger quote marks that made them both snigger. "Only time will tell Janet, but we can simply leave him with Teal'c, who's always a little sober, while we have fun."

"You mean they'll be in the peanut gallery, like our very own Statler and Waldorf?" Janet giggled, and Sam had to clasp her hand over her mouth to stop from shrieking out loud as she doubled over in laughter. What a picture that conjured up.

Unseen, Daniel stood in the doorway watching them, a smile spread over his own lips as he overheard their not so quiet comments and enjoyed seeing them having hysterics. It was good to see them sharing a joke and having a good laugh. It would at least break the tension for a moment, and that was something they all sorely needed these days.

OoOoOoOoO

Contrary to popular belief, Jack stayed in the guise of child Jack, although a rather subdued one. Janet had run plenty of tests and finally came to the conclusion that she really had no idea why that was so. The only theory they came up with was that when he was knocked out, the effects had somehow suppressed his older self. That led to beggar the question... would he stay like that permanently if Daniel's translation turned out to be wrong or ineffectual too?

Nobody could possibly know that of course – the whole dilemma was completely unanswerable at this point. Once the Christmas break was over General Hammond had proposed that they should return to the planet in order to find that elusive answer if Daniel's research came up blank.

Janet had kept Jack in the infirmary for most of Christmas Eve, but during the afternoon she had allowed the rest of his team to take him to her home where they would all be staying put until the 26th when she wanted him back at the SGC for various tests before they gated to PX34 259.

Jack for one seemed quite happy to be going to see Cassie again, and the fact that it was Christmas too. He appeared none the worse for his fever or his little mishaps along the way, which, although pleased them all, he was by no means behaving like his normal four year old boisterous self.

They spent a pleasant enough late afternoon. Cassie played checkers with Jack in the bedroom while Sam and Janet prepared a light dinner which left Teal'c and Daniel to wrap up some last minute presents for Jack, seeing as he was no longer his adult self as they'd half-expected. Luckily they'd bought both types because they could hardly give grown up gifts to a four year old Jack O'Neill, or vice-versa.

After dinner, they sat Jack down and went over what had happened to him back on that planet. To say that he was stunned would be an understatement, but then he took it all in his stride, shrugged his little shoulders, and surprisingly had very little to say on the subject, having understood more than he'd let on from the briefing with Simmons. This only worried the gathered group all the more; they had at least expected some sort of reaction, but not this apparent nonchalance.

He'd remained quiet for the rest of the evening, and not long afterwards actually asked to go to bed, requesting that Sam go with him.

Sam was worried by his request; especially as he now knew who he was and more importantly whom she was as his subordinate.

"Are you feeling okay Jack?" Janet asked, getting down to his level and reaching out to lay a hand over his brow. It felt warm again.

He pushed her hand away and frowned at her actions.

"I'm just tired!" he answered impatiently. "Can't I go to bed if I want to?"

"B...well, of course you can," Janet replied standing straight again and giving Sam am inquiring look.

"It's okay Janet. I'll stay with him until he's settled," she replied watching as Jack took off along the hall towards the stairs.

"You sure you won't need an escort?" Janet whispered with raised eyebrows and a wry smile playing over her lips. "especially giving him his bath?"

Sam practically pushed her back into the sitting room and told her quietly to shut up! She had a feeling Jack wanted to talk to her and she wanted to put him at ease right away. Even if it was going to be slightly embarrassing over the bath time ritual before bed.

Teal'c and Daniel had been assigned Cassie's room for the night; Daniel would use the bed and Teal'c would be happy doing his usual Kel-no-reem on the floor in his cross-legged position, surrounded by a few candles, having first promised Janet that he would be extra vigilant of them. The last thing he wanted was to start a fire. Cassie would have to snuggle up with Janet in the double bed while Sam was left with no choice but to curl up with 'little' Jack in the spare room, as requested by himself.

OoOoOoOoO

"Sam...?"

Sam turned her attention to Jack as he sat on the bathroom stool watching her put his clothes in the laundry basket.

"Yeah?" she answered, coming to squat in front of him to help him into the bath. Once he was sitting in the warm water he spoke hesitantly.

"I...I need to ask you something, but I'm not sure how to ask."

Sam turned and faced him as he chewed on his lower lip, and more doubt in those dark depths than she could ever remember seeing.

Easing herself onto her knees to lean over to grab the sponge, she began to soap it up. She smiled when he hesitated, then with a small tight smile he waited expectantly for her permission.

"You know you can ask me anything you want Jack, okay?" He looked up at her and then nodded, seeing that she'd meant what she'd said. "Now, what's on your mind?"

"We're...friends right? Even when I was grown up?"

"Yyyeessss..." she'd agreed after a short while wondering where he was going with this as she scrubbed the lather all over his back, trying hard to forget what happened the last time she'd bathed him. "I sure hope so."

"Good. That's good. Isn't it?"

"Of course it is. I think we were...are good friends."

His smile widened at hearing the confirmation from her.

"I don't remember being a grown up Jack."

"I know you don't; but that's okay, it doesn't matter. We'll still be your friends even if you have to stay this way."

"Really?"

"Of course we will," Sam assured him. How could they possibly not love this version of the man himself?

"Sam?"

"Uhuh?"

"Do you love me?"

Sam stiffened and Jack immediately stopped playing with the bubbles to look at the surprise on her face.

"I mean... If... if I have to stay like this, would you still love me?"

Sam smiled with relief, and counted herself lucky.

"Of course Jack. We all love you. You do remember what we discussed earlier about wanting to adopt you if we can't put things right, don't you?"

"Yeah... but adopting doesn't always mean that you love someone."

Sam was taken aback. How would he know about such things?

"Well, in this instance it would. We all love you Jack. Otherwise we wouldn't want to keep you with us."

It felt weird saying that. This was Jack O'Neill and she'd loved his adult self for a long time, though she couldn't actually tell him that. She hadn't been able to do that even when he was an adult; at least not in any actual words.

"No, I know about that. I mean do 'you' love me Sam? Did you love me when I was all grown up too?"

Sam felt sudden heat flame her face, much to her annoyance, and she floundered for an answer. Children were always so damn direct.

"Ah...um...well...I..."

"I love you Sam."

Oh god! How often had she dreamed of Jack saying those very words to her? It was the stuff her dreams were made of, but this was only little Jack and there was no chance of anything happening unless... Yeah, right... even then it would still only be a dream if he was restored back to his usual self. They'd still be dancing round the truth and avoiding the subject because of the regs. She did feel rather flattered by his admission though, none the less. God help her, she loved him in either guise. Right now, if all else failed, she wanted nothing more than to be his 'Mommy'.

"I love you too Jack!" she grinned, putting a large blob of bubbles on the end of his little pointy nose in fun, making him giggle.

"If I don't get all grown up, will you wait for me to get big again so that I can marry you?"

Oh wow!

"You're too young to be thinking things like that Jack," she laughed, though not unkindly. "Anyway, we'll have to see what happens after Christmas. Then, maybe you'll be all grown up again and we won't be having this conversation, let alone recalling it."

"Why not?" he asked in genuine confusion.

"Because it's against the Air Force's regulations."

"You mean I can't love you when I get big again?" His eyes were like huge saucers in disbelief.

Sam shook her head, a sad expression on her face.

"But that's just stupid. If I was all grown up now I'd want to marry you Sam. That's...if you wanted to too?"

Sam smiled wistfully, and she felt the tell-tale prickle of moisture gathering behind her eyes. Oh yeah, if only!

"That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me Jack. Big or small." She said it in all confidence knowing that he'd never remember this, if and when he reverted back to being the Colonel.

Jack took a good look at her, his dark eyes penetrating her so hard she blushed under such scrutiny. He couldn't help but wonder what had been wrong with his older self. Was he that stupid as an adult not to at least ask her to marry him?

"I didn't say things like that to you when I was big, did I? Gee I musta been real stupid!" he sighed, his shoulders sagging.

Sam shook her head again but couldn't find the voice to make any comment at all. It was so hard to hear him like this. It was all she'd ever wanted, but fate had been even more cruel to her than usual, and had taken away any distant hope she'd harboured about the two of them getting together one day in the future.

"You're not stupid Jack, just..." What? What was there to say to this child that could sum up this thing they had between them that they'd both put on hold for the sake of keeping... their careers, pensions and integrity intact? Saving Earth? Being heroes? Retirement? What exactly had they been waiting for? And for how much longer would they dance around without a solution? Until they were both too old? Until one of them died? "...that you're a damn fine, honest to goodness, loyal and caring soldier." Which didn't say anything or everything but it was all she could come up with right now.

They both stayed quiet after that while Sam concentrated on finishing his bath and then drying him off. Then he broke that uncomfortable silence with words that made her hands falter as she dressed him, and she felt compelled to look into his pleading eyes.

"Promise me one thing Sam?" His small hands came up to rest on her shoulders and he searched the very depths of her soul through her wide eyes.

"What?" Sam responded softly, half afraid of what he might be asking.

"That we'll talk about this if...when, I get big again? If I do forget, or try to ignore it, then just kick my ass and remind me of what I've said! Tell me I'm stupid, but don't let me ignore it any more!"

Sam was captured by those deep set eyes of his, pleading with her very heart, and she lost herself in the dark depths. In a surprising way, she almost thought she saw and heard a spark of the old O'Neill in there, but that just couldn't be right. Or was he really in there somewhere too? She just couldn't be sure, but if he was then she didn't want this opportunity to pass right by her, because it might never come to this point again.

"I promise!" she found herself answering softly, her voice almost failing her.

His smile widened and she thought he was about to hug her when he was suddenly fighting back a yawn. He really looked tired too and Sam shook herself free of her dreams.

"Come on Jack. Sleep. You've talked enough tonight. It's Christmas tomorrow, and the sooner you go to sleep the sooner Santa will come by with your presents."

"Pah! Baby stuff," he scoffed in disgust, making Sam giggle, but Jack was more than ready to fall asleep. In fact he couldn't stay awake any longer. He demonstrated this by giving a huge yawn again and leaning against her.

From where she was kneeling on the floor, she threw the wet towels onto the top of the laundry bin, promising herself that she would sort them out later, then she picked up a very sleepy Jack into her arms where he snuggled closer, burying his face into her neck. His cheeks felt quite warm, but then he'd just had a hot bath so she didn't give it much thought.

Lowering him under the covers, she smiled down on him as he snuggled down in the bed, but absolutely refusing to release Sam's hand. Faced with no other choice, she gave up and sat on the edge of the bed, her free hand unconsciously brushing the damp hair from his face whilst going over the conversation in her head until she realised his breathing had deepened and slowed, showing that he was now fast asleep.

She then got up and went along the hall to the bathroom to finish up but found the house was strangely quiet. Finishing her own nightly ritual, she wandered towards the stairs and discovered the lower floors in complete darkness. Apparently everyone had gone to bed too, so there was nothing else for her to do but go to bed as well.

She undressed quickly and slipped under the covers only to find a young Jack snuggle up to her as soon as she'd lain down. She smiled at his unconscious act and it wasn't long before she was asleep too.

She didn't really mind sharing her bed with a kid, especially this one, only regretfully aware that it wasn't with the real Jack; but oh how she just wished he would stop fidgeting in his sleep. She was awakened several times when a small foot or knee collided with her butt.

Even as an adult Jack was never still for more than two minutes together; it was almost impossible to concentrate during briefings with him; often he would be tapping his pen against the wooden table or drumming his fingers against it to some inner tune running through his head. He'd broken countless pens by fiddling with them too whilst either she or Daniel had been addressing the team and the General with their reports.

She closed her eyes again and willed herself back to sleep, wishing once more that he was the real thing and so not a child. Falling asleep again quickly, she dreamed of being held close in the real Jack's arms.

TBC


	21. Merry Christmas One and All

_Well, here we are at long last - the final chapter! I really hope you like it._

_**I've upped the rating on this for obvious reason if you should care to read it! Though there is nothing explicit, it is mainly of a suggestive nature. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!!**_

Past, Present & Future

By LetitiaRichards.

_Previously:_

She closed her eyes again and willed herself back to sleep, wishing that he was the real thing and so not a child. Falling asleep again quickly, she dreamed of being held close in the real Jack's arms.

Chapter 21 – Merry Christmas One and All!

This time when she half-woke up, she uncurled and stretched like a contented cat. Her dreams had been oh so sweet. The smell and feel of Jack O'Neill's arms around her felt wonderful, although it was a little disheartening when she'd woken earlier to find he was still a child, but, no matter, it was good to have something to hold on to for the future. Even if he never grew up she would at least have some good memories of him, especially after their conversation last evening.

Lying there curled on her side still half asleep, she revelling in her dreams until she felt Jack kick her butt again. Counting to ten, she moved her hand behind her and grabbed it, stopping it from kicking her again.

She could feel Jack's breathing hitch in his sleep and he moaned something into her ear before he tried to move away from her grasp.

Another groan and a gasp followed and made Sam smile evilly, still trying to enjoy that dream while she could. She closed her eyes once more and tried to imagine herself in bed with the real Jack.

"_Sam...I love you so much..."_

_She smiled, feeling sated and euphoric as she whispered the words back to him too._

"_I know you love me Sam, but if you don't stop that..."_

_Sam squeezed him a little harder, loving that long drawn out moan of need that followed immediately._

"_God, Sam...Please..._ ...If you don't let go now, I swear I won't be held responsible for my actions. And it will be one hell of a Happy Christmas, the like of which I haven't had in a long, long time!" Jack wheezed; his eyes almost crossing and watering with pain... and pleasure.

"Then stop kicking me Jack!" she muttered sleepily.

"That is so not my foot Carter!"

Sam's eyes popped open wider than she'd though possible; her eyebrows disappearing under her wayward bangs.

She shrieked and released him as if she'd been burned, tumbling out of the bed in haste when she suddenly realised exactly what it was that she had been holding onto so...firmly.

"Oh God!" Tell me I didn't! Please! I was dreaming! I swear I was!

On her knees at the side of the bed, she peered over the top of the bed at a fully grown Jack O'Neill who was wearing a sappy grin on his face, amused at the comical look of utter shock on her face.

"Jack!" she yelled dumbfounded.

He eyed her with amusement in his dark eyes as he took in her wonderfully tousled blonde hair and impossibly wide, blue startled eyes.

"Jack?" he queried with a smile, just not used to her using his Christian name. It sounded 'nice' when she called him that. He didn't know what the hell had been going on lately, but for whatever reason there was, they were actually sharing a bed. And as to what she had been doing, well, he didn't know why, but it had felt oh so good. Far too good for him to want to hide behind those damn regulations any longer. Besides, he'd already spoken to Hammond, though how long ago that was he didn't have a clue.

"Oh! Um...er...Colonel!" she gulped in shock. "You're back!"

Jack pulled the covers up and took note of his body, then dropped them back into place, rather firmly, bending his knees upwards, but remaining where he was. It could prove a little embarrassing if he tried to get out of bed. Oh yes, he was definitely an adult again.

"Ah...yeah, I guess so. What happened?"

At this precise moment, the door flew open and Daniel, Teal'c, Janet, and Cassie stumbled through to stand stock still in the doorway; having been summoned there in a panic on hearing Sam scream.

"What's up?" Daniel asked blinking sleepily. He'd only just gone to bed, having worked on the translations until an hour ago, and he'd come running in here without his glasses.

Jack flushed slightly, momentarily closed his eyes, and swallowed hard, though he absolutely refused to answer Daniel's purely innocent but leading question.

Then everyone spoke at once which had Jack cringing at the noise level.

"Sam?" Janet appeared concerned but soon changed her mind when she studied them a little closer. Her satisfaction in what she saw there, deepened. She would have to put off her medical checks on him until later there was no way she was interrupting them for a while. He certainly looked none the worse for his ordeal.

"Major Carter?"

"Sam? Oh, hey Jack! You're back!" Cassie was practically jumping up and down and would have run and jumped on the bed if Janet hadn't restrained her. The young teenager couldn't understand what was going on, but for some strange reason her Mom was now smiling sappily at the two of them that were in the bedroom.

"O'Neill! It is indeed good to see you restored to us once more." The Jaffa was actually wearing a huge knowing smile on his face, and he still gave them that little bow in greeting.

"Adult Jack's back? Already?" Daniel, still squinting myopically, appeared to be the most confused, apart from Sam that is, and Cassie too. "How did you...? Um... I mean," he paused, then pouted. "You know, I just spent all night working on the problem and now you're back anyway?"

"Well, don't look at me! I didn't do anything!" Jack insisted on protesting his innocence. 'Yet!' he added mentally, sending up his secret Christmas wish and hoping it wasn't too late for Santa to act on it.

Sam hadn't spoken a word or moved a muscle, and was still sitting on the floor gazing at Jack, unable to look away from his well defined chest. It was liberally dusted with curly salt and pepper hair, and her wayward eyes followed it right down past the slightly lax six pack abdomen to where the sheet rested, allowing her imagination to run riot over her more decorous notions as to where her hand had been only minutes before.

It was some time before she realised that everyone had fallen silent just watching her, studying his body for some sign of a reaction or explanation. She blushed, turning a deep shade of crimson, much to Jack's amusement, though he was the only one that could actually see her face properly.

"Ah...it's nice to be back kids. I fine. Great in fact! But, don't ya think you're overdoing the welcome back thing just a little?" Jack made a little shooing gesture with his free hand.

Surprisingly it was Teal'c who took the less than subtle hint and moved the others reluctantly back out into the hall and shut the door behind them. Sam went to stand ready to follow them, when Jack called her back.

"Carter! Stay!"

"Sir?" she queried, her voice more of a strangled squeak at this point.

"C'mere!" he beckoned with his finger and Sam gulped and felt a shiver run up and down her spine in anticipation. "I have something of great import that... We...um, need to talk!"

"We do sir?"

"That would be a yes, Carter." He pulled back the covers a little, careful not to expose himself and invited her back into the bed by patting the mattress beside him. "Sit!"

Sam's nerves almost got the better of her and she didn't know whether to sit at his command or run from it, but then he smiled that wonderful smile of his up at her and she knew that he wouldn't do anything to compromise her in any way.

Once she had crawled back into the bed he threw the covers over her and leaned back against the pillows he'd now piled up against the wall behind him. She followed suit feeling more comfortable and at ease now.

"I don't recall much of what happened after that disastrous run in with 'Santa' in the mall, or how much time has passed..."

"Oh..." she gasped in recollection. "It's Christmas day sir. Happy Christmas!"

"Yeah, you too! And I sure hope it will be!" he sighed wryly. Then looked over at her and smiled at her confusion. He drew in a deep breath, wondering where to begin. "Um...Did we talk last night or did I dream all that up?"

Taken by surprise Sam's eyebrows shot up. Holy Hannah! He remembered that?

"Ah...yes sir. We talked about...things."

"Ah! Then you'll know what I said... about..." he dithered, trying to find the right words. God, he was crap at this! "Us!" he said with a flourish of his hand between them.

Sam blushed again and could only nod in agreement.

"I guessed as much, though as I said, I wasn't sure it was for real at the time."

"I'm sorry sir. I was dreaming. I...I..."

"That's okay Carter...No problem! I...em...didn't meant to...em... you know?"

"No sir, of course not!" Damn!

An awkward silence fell and all that was heard was the faint ticking of the clock beside the bed. Then suddenly, and just as disturbingly, Jack cleared his throat, wishing he had a beer to hand. He could sure do with one right now!

"Um...Before this...thing...happened to me," he began, wondering how she was going to take the news he was about to impart to her. "I...er...ahem... I had a word with General Hammond. Well, several words actually, but he was in total agreement with me on this, and we thought perhaps Christmas being a nice time and all, so it was as good as any time to choose to offer...er..."

Sam listened to his rambling explanation wondering if and when he was ever going to get to the point, but he looked so damn delectable and cute when he was tongue-tied. She could literally eat him!

"...And I wondered if that would be okay with you, that is... going by that half remembered conversation last night, I was hoping it would be...uh...will be okay with you? So, what'd ya say Sam?"

Huh? What? What had she missed? He was looking at her so expectantly now that she floundered for the slightest hint of what he'd been talking about.

After a few minutes of silence, his face fell.

"Not that much, evidently. Was I so wrong? Which part didn't you like?" he asked, trying hard not to look too disappointed, but the distinct absence of any words had hit him harder than he thought possible. Damn it! His restive fingers now pulled mercilessly at the loose threads on the coverlet, venting his frustration.

"What?" Sam gasped, finally able to get one word out at last.

"What?" he echoed softly, his face scrunched up because he was more confused by that comment than by her previous silence.

"No, I mean; what did you say? I'm sorry but I think I missed half of what you were saying sir." She looked undeniably guilty and lost.

"Oh!" His face brightened a little when he read her apology. He then summarized his earlier speech.

Sam wasn't so sure that she'd heard him correctly the second time. To say she was shocked didn't come close! Surprised, stunned, startled, staggered, stupefied and somewhat shaken was nearer the mark. Then after the initial reaction had passed, she felt astonished, astounded and amazed, all of which finally turned to euphoria, exhilaration, excitement and exultation.

Jack couldn't help but smile at the range of emotions playing over her face all at once. He so loved to see her speechless and amazed; she looked so damn beautiful it made him feel positively all gooey inside.

"Well? What'd ya say? Yez or nay?"

Sam blinked back the tears of happiness and practically threw herself into his arms nodding vigorously.

"I take it that you accept all the changes that we're gonna have to live with?"

She nodded against his neck, too choked up to voice her thoughts at this point.

Jack beamed down at her and wrapped her in his arms, pulling her against him. He slid down the bed a little more so that they ended up lying closely wound round each other.

"You really want this?"

Her head came up level with his, all beaming smiles and happy tears. He leaned over and captured her lips with his in a long sweet, fervent kiss.

Finally having to come up for air, the ultimate expectation of her dreams fell into place as her emotions culminated in pure ecstasy. She felt like she'd come home; and that more importantly, it was okay for them to do this now.

"I love you Sam." Tears leaked as she nodded.

"I love you too Jack!" She leaned in and kissed the tip of his nose, ending the contact with a giggle.

Jack frinned at her, their eyes locking onto each other's, seeking and finding the true depth of their feelings so long hidden from sight, even from themselves. As they moved ever closer together, they knew they had reached their definitive victory. Their love had stood the test of time, tensions and trouble and had endured through it all. Jack homed in on his prize for another passionate kiss, while sending up a silent thank you to Santa for the best Christmas he'd had in far too long.

OoOoOoOoO

"Don't you think someone should go up there and make sure they're okay?"

"No!" Came three definite and decisive responses.

Cassie shrugged; she couldn't imagine anyone wanting to talk about work for that long, especially on Christmas day; and in bed too! She was fed up of waiting for them to come down; her Mom had refused to let her open any presents without them there too.

The adults had talked about Jack and Sam while her Mom was preparing the dinner, but she'd overheard odd snatches of conversation, not that it had made much sense to her. That sort of thing was okay in books and the movies, but not in real life, and at their age it was just gross!

Cassie sat as near to the door as possible and listened out for the opening of the bedroom door. When it came she was about to shout out in relief but then she heard the bathroom door shut and the shower running. Daniel had left some of his spare clothes on the bed for Jack, seeing as he had nothing else to wear now he'd 'grown up' again. Then it seemed an age before they finally appeared on the stairs.

She'd always been told that there was nothing going on between her favourite people, because of the AF's regulations, not that it had stopped her wishing that they would get together one day, because she knew they were good friends, and now here they were walking towards her, holding hands and smiling like those proverbial cats that had eaten the cream.

"Merry Christmas kids!" Jack cried out happily, and then sniffed the air appreciatively. The wonderful aroma of Roasting turkey with all the trimmings was filling the warm house, and his smile grew wider.

"Merry Christmas Jack!" they all chorused. "Merry Christmas Sam!"

"Hey! Merry Christmas to you too! All of you!" Sam beamed, looking quite radiant.

"Jack! Sam!" Cassie squealed with expectant delight as she pointed to a sprig of mistletoe hanging over the doorway. They all looked up at it and grinned.

Then Jack took Sam in his arms and kissed her long and deeply while they all looked on in amazement. When they broke off, they kept gazing into each other's eyes for a long time.

"Ah, Jack? Got something you want to tell us?" Daniel asked, thinking that he had missed a memo or something. Last time he'd heard they weren't supposed to do anything as personal as kissing, even if it was just because of the old tradition.

"Yes. Just what did you two talk about up there?" Janet added, feeling a little chagrined at being left out of the loop.

Jack shrugged and looked to Sam for her opinion.

"Shall we tell them now or after dinner?"

"Now! Now!" yelled Cassie, not above reading romance novels instead of studying when Janet wasn't looking.

"Okay then...last one in the... Oh...right!" Jack's words trailed off when he realised he'd been left in the hallway with just Sam.

Everyone had rushed past the two of them in their haste to get to hear the full story, leaving the two of them standing in the hall.

"Hey! You two. Come on! We're all here waiting!" Janet called out eagerly. She was almost beside herself with curiosity. She had guessed something was going on when they'd all barged into the room earlier, but now she wanted to hear all the details.

They strolled in and sat down on the sofa which conveniently happened to be the only two seats left available. How strange!

"Well! Out with it!"

"I have heard it said many times that you should not keep the elderly waiting O'Neill!"

There were snorts of amusement around the room at Teal'c's comment while Jack just gave a capricious shake of his head at his friend's witticism. Teal'c was getting much better now at this game.

"Hurry up uncle Jack!" Cassie groaned. "Mom said I can't open my presents until you've told us all what's going on!"

"Okay! Okay! Sheesh..." he muttered, then got poked in the ribs by Sam who was grinning like mad at him. "Right then. Here's the news! So I hope you kids are ready for this!"

He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts.

"A while back I spoke to General Hammond about giving Sam her own team..." This brought forth gasps and nods of approval from those listening. "He asked me if there was a problem to which I replied, yes!"

"There was?" Daniel was completely mystified by this statement, thinking that he didn't recall Sam and Jack having any problems working together.

"Daniel!"

"What?"

"Shut up! Just let me finish, okay?" Jack griped in frustration.

"Oh!" he gasped in surprise. Even more so when Janet hissed her approval in his ear. "Okay!"

"I told him that I had become...well, 'attached' to my 2IC and that we couldn't, shouldn't be working on the same team unless he wanted to have us both leave under a cloud so to speak, because neither of us wanted to give up the Air Force or the SGC. He told me to leave it with him for a bit and he'd get back to me. Which he did, just before we gated to P...whatever..."

Sam was about to correct him when he stopped her by placing his fingers over her mouth.

"Ack! Doesn't matter." He wagged his finger at her with his free hand until she nodded okay. "The whole thing is, that, as it turned out, from today, Sam is now Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter and will be running her own show so that we can... Well, let's just say she's no longer under my chain of command."

"And I think you guys have already guessed what that means to both of us!" Sam added, taking Jack's hand and squeezing it, sending him that big smile that made his insides melt again. He beamed back at her, but then turned to see for himself what the gang thought of the whole idea of losing Sam from the team so that he and Sam could be together.

After a moment of silence which had both Sam and Jack looking at each other in dread, there were shouts of 'Congratulations' ringing through the house. Hugs all round, with kisses from Cassie and Janet too, and then Daniel had a sudden thought and hared off to the computer upstairs while they all opened their presents, and then Teal'c disappeared for a while to use the phone in the study.

OoOoOoOoO

Sometime later the doorbell rang and Janet went to answer it, welcoming the final guest into her house to share in their festive celebrations.

Jack and Sam both stood up when General Hammond walked into the chaos of ankle deep wrapping paper where various piles of opened gifts were stacked around the room. He shook hands with Jack, more than relieved and happy to see him back to being himself again. He kissed Sam and congratulated her on the promotion and gaining the leadership of her own team. Then patted them both on the back, hugging Sam and wishing them all the best for their future.

Janet soon announced that dinner was ready, so they all moved into the dining room. General Hammond had only just sat down at the other end of the table before Janet placed the turkey in front of him.

"There you are sir," she smiled readily at giving him the honour of carving the juicy bird. Hammond grinned as he picked up the carving knife and fork then paused in his admiration of the food on the table in front of him.

"Thank you Dr. Fraiser. It looks good enough to eat." Janet preened at his praise - until he continued. "Well, this is fine for me, but what are you people eating?" he laughed heartily at Janet's reaction and everyone else's loud objections.

"Where's Dr. Jackson? I though he was staying here too?"

Just then Daniel came running into the room, papers in his hand as he waved them over his head.

"Jack! Jack. I just figured it out!"

"You want to share that with the rest of us Dr. Jackson?"

Daniel stopped and looked up in surprise.

"Oh! General Hammond. I didn't know you were coming to dinner?"

"Neither did I, but please let's serve this wonderful feast before it gets cold and then you can tell us all about your translation while we eat."

"Um...yes sir. Of course!" Janet pointed him to the empty seat and he sat down between Teal'c and Cassie, and opposite Jack and Sam.

They all helped themselves to the food and then settled down to enjoy Janet's hard work. It was then, Daniel began to relate his discovery.

"I...I found out it was all a mistake Jack! It shouldn't have happened to you. But you see, I was basically right all along. It was created by some of the Ancients race, only, it wasn't meant to change a human...a...a person as such, you see. The...the writing had me stumped for a while, but as I said, I was more or less right about it being a sort of fountain of youth or whatever."

"Ya think?" Jack sighed with regret. Some youth he turned out to be! A little bit too young for his liking. He wouldn't have minded knocking a few years off his age, but being four was so not what he'd have wanted by a long shot. "So? What then?"

"Well, apparently, the people that lived there would place a small sample of, what I took to mean, DNA, in the middle of that inner circle and then they somehow activated the controls automatically as they walked from the room. I guess that's why it wouldn't let me in there to stop it. Anyhow, it was supposed to recreate them as children, which they would then keep as their own to rear and so on... I...I guess that's why they eventually died out. I mean, it couldn't have been very healthy or productive."

"They cloned themselves?" Jack, Sam, Janet and General Hammond all voiced their astonishment at the same time, while Teal'c raised an eyebrow in consternation.

"Um...yeah. From the translations, I figured they only lived a fairly short life span and the women were pretty much barren through interbreeding, and whatever, so they built this altar of youth, to create children of themselves to rear until they passed on and the children grew up and performed the same rituals when the time came. And, like all copies of copies, the master deteriorates in time and the copies aren't as good as the real thing."

"So, why did it work...half work on me?" Jack demanded. He was more curious about it than annoyed by now.

"I really don't know Jack, but don't forget you had that Ancient's repository downloaded into your brain that time. Maybe that left some kind of marker in you. Something which could have been recognised by the machinery. I have no idea."

"I haven't noticed anything in the Colonel's bloodwork Daniel that was any different to anyone else's, though I haven't actually run a DNA test on him..." Janet went off into quiet contemplation.

"Well anyway, I'm back now. I'm more than fine, and I intend to stay this way. I hope to god that I don't wake up one morning to find I'd been downsized again, because I will sooo not be a happy camper!" Jack stated firmly.

"Oh, I doubt that Jack," Daniel assured him. "Now that you are back to normal again, it probably means that the whole process has been rejected by your body for good. Perhaps that's why you kept changing between your adult mind and that of your childhood. It seemed to prove very unstable on you."

"Yeah, talking of which... Em...did I say or do anything that I might yet live to regret?" Jack asked watching all round the table closely for any sly smiles that might appear from the company around him.

"Oh, I don't think so Jack." They all looked at each other and shrugged, but then, just when Jack had decided he'd gotten off fairly easily; Daniel continued, "Other than the fact that you had the whole commissary in hysterics with your tales of frogs hidden in a Nun's wimple. That you hated your Pizza – in fact you spat it out and vowed never to touch another one."

By now Jack had closed his eyes, to listen with a pained expression of dread growing over his face, just waiting for something really bad to be said that indicated he'd revealed something from his past that he wanted to keep to himself.

"Let's see now, you put sugar in my coffee." Daniel was on a roll. "You locked yourself in the men's room, yelling and screaming and tried to kick the door down. You fell asleep in Sam's lap, sucking noisily on your thumb during the debriefing. Kicked Colonel Simmons in the knee cap – which he thoroughly deserved by the way! You disrupted all the shoppers and security guards in the mall by having a fight with some not so nice folks from the NID who'd dressed in Santa's outfit in the huge Christmas display area. Um...practically demolished the infirmary. Shall I go on?"

"Okay! Okay! Enough! I get the picture!" By now, Jack was cringing so badly, and hoping that this was by far the worst things he'd actually done that was on Daniel's list. He didn't think he could listen to anything else he may have done. He was just so relieved to know that he hadn't given away any of those really annoying little secrets from his past, and by the sound of it he'd managed to keep the more embarrassing incidents and memories of his childhood from his friends.

He brightened slightly, pushing away the trepidation he'd felt while Daniel was reciting his life as a 50 plus four year old. His past was safe. His present was now going to be fantastic with Sam by his side; and his...their future was all going to be taken care of now they had decided to take that last step towards being a couple. Yeah. He was more than pleased with the way things were working out. Beaming round at his friends who'd sat there watching him while he'd chewed over his meandering thoughts; they returned the smile with big cheesy grins.

"Here's to you kids, and you too General, sir. Merry Christmas!" Jack raised his glass in a toast, and they all followed in toasting each other, but Sam and Jack in particular, and to the future.

"Any more of your delicious pumpkin pie Janet?" asked Jack, changing the subject and feeling free and light for the first time by releasing a deep cleansing sigh of relief, now the worst was over.

"Why of course my little sweetie," Janet giggled, and Jack's smile suddenly vanished when he realised with dread, that there was yet more to come. Something big. He cringed in anticipation. "Anything for you Jonjo!" she replied, bringing the house down around him.

"Arrgghh! Crap!" Jack squirmed, knowing he'd dropped himself right into it. There was no way they were going to forget that in a hurry! He let his head fall onto the table, and repeatedly banged it in defeat, while all around him the laughter continued. He was so not gonna live that down. Ever!

The End.

_Well, I really hope you enjoyed this extra long chapter for the finale to this story! _

_I'd like to thank everyone of you that has sent in a review over the umpteen weeks it took me to get it down on paper - as it were! I have really enjoyed reading your comments and have appreciated your encouragement a great deal. THANK YOU!!!!!!!_

_As promised, I will now turn my attention to that much neglected fic of mine - This Old Man! Once that is out of the way I already have the start of the next one written. It's going to be something rather different this time in celebration of my 100th story. To read any of my previous fics you may have missed please go to 'Jackfic' dot com and look for fics under Lingren!_


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